


light up the way

by harpydora



Category: Friends at the Table (Podcast)
Genre: A lot of introspection, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Study, Cybernetic maintenance, Domesticity, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fix-It, Medical Inaccuracies, Medical Procedures, Mentions of Canonical Character Death, Minor blasphemy, Other, Pining, Post-Canon, Slow Burn, Xenobiology, includes a lot of headcanons about apostolosians, minor themes of ptsd and depression, my city now, robotic larceny, spoilers for all of c/w
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-25
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-05-13 16:16:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 45,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14752161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harpydora/pseuds/harpydora
Summary: After everything, Cass wakes up.





	1. Goodnight, Cassander

**Author's Note:**

> This is my long-winded love letter to Cassander Timaeus Berenice as well as this pairing. I used a bunch of my own headcanons about Apostolosians, as well as the "canon" pronouns that Austin posted a while back. I also shamelessly stole some headcanons from AO3 user citadelofswords because I loved them.
> 
> Don't worry, the whole fic is done. I just need to edit the later chapters.
> 
> Title is from the song ["Follow You Down" by Aviators](https://youtu.be/tJko3SWAGDA).
> 
> _They told me I've lost you_  
>  _Yet here you are now_  
>  _So light up the way and_  
>  _I'll follow you down_
> 
> [Gorgeous cover art](https://drive.google.com/file/d/18I_JoXYoapgcHO5K27RBV38E9Lka3l1s/view?usp=sharing) provided by [the wonderful Annie](https://twitter.com/dancynrew).
> 
> Come join me in yelling about FatT on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/harpydora/) or on [Tumblr](https://strangeharpy.tumblr.com/).

It's difficult to sleep like this: on their side, facing the wall; awash in the distant glow of the city outside the window; cool metal clad in a layer of synthskin pressed against their back; an implacable robotic hand splayed over their chest. AuDy's old chassis had always made a litany of clicks, whirrs, and other distressed mechanical noises, but their new one barely even hums. Cass shifts, just a little, and finds themself tugged incrementally closer by the gentle pressure of AuDy's hand.

There's no sense in pretending to sleep, either. When AuDy gets like this, feels the need to stretch out on the bed next to Cass, they've dialed up every sensor in their sleek new frame and bent them all toward the monitoring of Cass's vitals. The hand on their chest serves to track respiration, pulse, core body temperature. Nothing more and nothing less.

Cass tries not to read too much into it. For as much effort and resources as AuDy put into this—into _Cass,_ after… Well, it makes sense that they would want to make sure Cass's body functions within normal parameters.

And yet.

The shape of their—friendship?; relationship?—whatever-it-is had never been characterized as having clear edges, even at the best of times. But these weeks on Kalliope have done nothing to bring things into focus.

They try not to read too much into it, but they can't help ascribing meaning where there is none. They're not an idiot, nor are they a fool. And yet… they have to fight not to sigh, not to bring one hand up to rest on AuDy's own.

But they can think about it. They can close their eyes and imagine that there's intention behind the solid weight at their back. They can imagine what it would feel like to lace their fingers with AuDy's, giving them an experimental squeeze just to feel how the synthskin would react. They can imagine that AuDy would squeeze back.

"Your heart rate is elevated," AuDy says in their lowest volume setting. It's barely above a whisper, and even though there's no breath behind it, Cass can't suppress the involuntary shiver.

"It's fine," they say, voice cracking around the lump in their throat.

"You should rest."

Cass doesn't scoff, but it's a near thing. _I should do a lot of stuff._

Their fingers flex, almost of their own accord, but they do not touch the back of AuDy's hand.


	2. Good Morning, Agapios

They gag on the tube as it comes free of their throat, collapsing onto their hands and knees on a slick, cold surface. They can't open their eyes yet, but they can feel the chilly air biting at their skin and scales as they try not to heave. Their arms shake under them, and they draw in a few ragged, gasping breaths as they work up the courage to try to look around.

"Ah, um… Ah, yes, Agapios Zosimus Demostrate, it's good to see you're awake. I'm Doctor Cardinal Parry, and I've been assigned to assist you." The voice comes from their left, stumbling over the Apostolosian name with aplomb. It's not Cass's name, but they're not in any position to argue about it. Shit. What happened that they wound up somewhere cold with a probably Oricon doctor while under an assumed name? A _douchey_ assumed name, at that?

When Cass finally screws up the nerve to open their eyes, they're shocked to find that they aren't under some blinding white glare. Instead, the lab—and it _is_ a medical lab—is illuminated by soft green and blue lights set into the floor and ceiling. It doesn't help with the chill, but it at least lets their eyes have an easier adjustment. They glance around: they aren't on the floor, but rather a raised platform in front of a huge tank like the ones that—

Like the ones Mako and Aria had described all the other Makos and Maritimes being grown in.

What the _fuck._

They wrack their brain, trying to remember something, anything, that would give them a clue as to why they'd just been ejected from what might be a cloning vat. The last thing they remember is being in the _Apokine_ , ready to fight Rigour, and then… Nothing.

"Fuck," they hiss through clenched teeth.

The doctor lets out a relieved sigh. "Oh, good. I was starting to worry! Welcome back, Mx. Demostrate."

"That's not how that works," Cass huffs. Their throat is so raw that it barely comes out as a gravely rasp. "You have to say the full trilonym or only the pronym. Never just the eponym."

"Ah, you will have to forgive me… Mx. Agapios, then?" When Cass gives them a curt nod, they continue, "We don't receive much patronage from customers from Apostolos. When your work order came in… well, a lot of us thought it was a _joke._ "

Cass snorts. "Shitty joke."

The doctor nods. "Yes, well. Obviously now we know better. The procedure went well, though to make the timetable we were given, we were required to lean more heavily on synthware implants than is typical for this sort of, ah, _reconstruction._ " They gesture down at Cass. "However, I believe you will find the implants to meet or exceed all of the requirements we were given."

"Will I." Implants. _What the fuck_ happened?

By the time Doctor Parry discharges them, they're clad in a simple shirt and pair of slacks, both standard-issue from the facility. Not standard-issue are the hair ties they'd wheedled out of one of the nurses and used to bind their hair up into a quick and inelegant braid.

What they've managed to piece together is this: someone very rich has grown them a bunch of new body parts on short notice and given them the douchiest alias possible for them to use while their benefactor does… something. No one at the facility would tell them what happened or who even paid their bill. Which is a pretty huge puzzle piece to be missing for damn sure.

Still, they gather that they're on Kalliope (not a big leap even if the staff hadn't been willing to part with that tidbit), and they have no means of contacting Aria or Mako or _anyone._ The best they can hope is that the ID they've been given is forged well enough that they can find a shitty hotel to crash in. Not a good situation at all.

They flex their fingers. At least Doctor Parry is right: the implants are good. They can't tell their appendages from the elbows and knees down aren't organic.

Outside the facility, a cab waits with its rear passenger door open. The sidewalk is devoid of any other pedestrian life. For a single, childish moment, Cass considers walking on past, but the impulse passes as quickly as it came. They're alone, they're cred-less, and the only way they're likely to get any answers is by accepting the invitation and seeing where it leads.

From the cab, Cass watches the cityscape roll by with a vague sort of detachment. It's more developed than Centralia's dome, but can't hold a candle to the regal spires of Apostolos's capitol. It's difficult to be interested in the place when it's so unfamiliar and they still have so many questions.

The car pulls up to an imposing apartment building, but the door doesn't open just yet. The driver (not an Automated Dynamics model, Cass notes with the same disinterest with which they'd regarded the passing surroundings) swivels its head so that the screen projecting the image of a person faces the back seat.

"If you're expecting me to pay up, I don't know what to tell you," Cass says.

The screen flickers, the projection of a face pixelating for a moment before clearing. From the speaker mounted at the just below the screen, a synthesized voice intones, "Cassander."

Even though it shouldn't be shocking to hear their own name (whoever had set all this up obviously knows who they are), Cass's pulse jumps. When it becomes obvious that the driver expects a response, they swallow down their shock. "Yeah?"

"In the trunk you will find some items," the driver informs them. "You will find clothing, the key to unit 35-A, a comms unit, and several other accessories which you may need."

"Okay…? Are you going to tell me—"

"That is all." The driver's head swivels back around. The door closest to the curb swings open. "Please exit the vehicle."

They sigh and do as they're instructed. Once they're out, the trunk pops open to reveal a large bag that, from the heft of it, contains everything they were informed it would.

Whoever arranged all this evidently expects them to be here for a while.

*

The apartment is by no means large, but it's well-appointed and comfortable. Cass unloads all the clothing into the chest of drawers in the bedroom, then flops down on the bed. For someone who only woke up a few hours ago, Cass is exhausted. Still, they fidget with the comms unit in their hand. They have yet to turn it on, and now that they have a means with which to interact with the outside world, they're not sure they _want_ to.

Curiosity wins out. They can turn on the comms without making any calls, they reason. Not just yet. They thumb the power button and the comms spring to life.

" _Cassander._ " A tinny, synthesized voice chirps from the comms: a pre-recorded message set to play on start-up. " _You are safe here. You must have questions. This is understandable. They will be answered, but first you must adjust. The date is day 189 of the 5th arc of Apokine Pelagios XXV. Please use the name Agapios Zosimus Demostrate if you interact with anyone here. Do not worry about funds. Your expenses will come out of Agapios's accounts._ " The message ends and the comms go dark.

5th arc of Pelagios XXV? Shit. Over a year since the last day they remember.

"What the hell happened?" they ask aloud to their empty apartment. Their home, now, and for the foreseeable future. At least until they've "adjusted," whatever that's supposed to mean.

They don't expect an answer, and they do not receive one.

*

The first time Cass noticed something was different, it was in the middle of a firefight.

As was often the case, the job went south. Gunfire pinned Mako and Aria down behind an overturned desk, while AuDy and Cass took cover around the corner. Mako had done a good job of fogging the building's security system, but that only made it easier for the competing crew to infiltrate too. And now they were caught in a needless firefight with a bunch of cut-throats who decided that ransoming an exiled member of a royal family would have a better payout than their original job.

"It don't gotta be like this," the leader called out between volleys of fire. "Just hand the damn fish over and ya can go. We won't even stop ya from grabbin' the goods. It's all yours if the fish comes with us."

"No way!" Mako yelled over the top of the desk. "Get your own royal scion. This one's ours!"

Cass rolled their eyes. "Shut up." Their mind raced: what were the chances that they could take out the opposing team? What were the best means of escape? How could they make sure Aria, AuDy, and Mako got out relatively unharmed?

Unfortunately, Cass could see only one course of action that didn't lead to someone important getting hurt. To the head goon, they said, "You have to let my people go first. Then I'll come with you."

"What?!" Mako squawked. "Are you crazy? You can't go with those people!"

"You can't be serious," Aria added.

"I'm serious. They can't hurt me because I'm useless to them if I'm injured." Softer, hopefully only loud enough for their friends to hear, "Besides, you can get me away from them once you get what we came here for."

"Put down your gun and step outta that corner," the ringleader said. "You do that and your people can go."

Neither Aria, nor Mako, nor AuDy said anything at first, which Cass took as a good sign. They put their gun on the ground at their feet and then raised their hands high above their head. With the toe of their boot, they nudged their gun out into the open. "There. Step one done."

"Still don't see you, 'your Highness.' Your friends don't go 'til we can see your fishy little face."

Cass took a deep breath in through their nose and out through their mouth. "Alright."

As they turned to step into the open, AuDy hooked an arm around their waist. "You cannot go."

"It's your best shot at getting out of here," Cass hissed. "This isn't my first time with someone trying to ransom me. I know how this goes."

"They will hurt you."

"It'll be _fine,_ " Cass said.

"That was a very Aria 'fine,'" AuDy responded. "Which is not fine at all." It never ceased to amaze Cass how an expressionless robot can somehow be sullen.

The head goon made a show of clearing his throat. "We're _waiting._ "

"Just trust me, okay? I'll be alright and you can come pick me up once you get what we came for." Cass slipped out of AuDy's hold, and AuDy did not chase them. "It'll be fine."


	3. This Is Not A Joke

They can hear it; every voice on every planet in the sector, and all of them are raised up in a chorus. It's quiet at first but then it swells like an ocean and crests in a mighty roar of triumph and anguish and relief and grief in uneven measures. Everything burns around them and the only thing they can think over the din is, _I should've called Mako._ But it's useless. They made their choices and now the only thing left to do is wait.

Cass very nearly hurls themself upright, their heart racing in their chest. Some distant part of them wonders, is their heart organic, or is it another of the implants they've been gifted? O Apoannta, what a _mess._ They scrub at their eyes with the heels of their palms and try desperately to get their breathing under control.

Fuck.

The tablet on the bedside table beeps and its message indicator blinks in the dim light of the apartment. Someone chose to send "Agapios" a communication of some sort, but Cass finds themself at a complete loss as to who might have done so. Even their benefactor hasn't seen fit to contact them in the nearly week since they moved into the apartment.

Still shaking from the nightmare—some of the whispers of sadness linger at the edge of their hearing—Cass grabs the tablet and unlocks the screen.

_Cass,_ it begins, already setting them on edge by being overly familiar. _You have barely left your bed and have eaten almost exclusively takeout for the past several days. Please take a shower and put on fresh clothes. You will find the kitchen is fully stocked. There is squid ink from Apostolos._

Somehow, the fact that the apartment is bugged shouldn't come as a surprise, and yet Cass still feels a surge of indignation. They scan the room for anything obvious to no avail. Also not a surprise, given how nice the apartment is and how much money their benefactor had obviously spent on their new body parts.

Lacking an obvious camera, Cass glares at the nightstand. "Okay, whoever-the-hell-you-are, listen up: you don't get to dump me off somewhere with nothing to my name—and don't you dare tell me that 'Agapios' has plenty, because that's _not_ what I'm talking about—and no information other than it's over a year later than I remember it being and then expect me to just… I don't even _know_ what you expected, because no one's talked to me about anything."

The tablet beeps as a new message pops up immediately. _You could have asked questions. Your comms link is active and you have mesh access._

Cass splutters, glaring now at the tablet in their hands. The dregs of panic left over from their nightmare blend in with the brewing indignation into a heady cocktail that drives them to speak again. "'Asked questions?' Are you serious? It's been a year, the last thing I remember is gearing up to fight Rigour, someone decided to grow me a bunch of new body parts, and now you're telling me 'you could have asked questions?' Where am I even going to start? How about this: who the hell are you and what do you want from me?" Their voice climbs in pitch as they speak, but they can't bring themself to care.

Another new message beep: _I am your friend. I want you to take care of yourself._

"Yeah, when someone won't show their face and calls themself your friend, you're pretty much guaranteed that they're _not,_ " Cass scoffs.

There's nearly a minute of silence before the tablet beeps again. _Take a shower. Put on fresh clothing. Make squid ink pasta. Turn on the vid unit in the kitchen when that is done. It will answer some of your questions._

"Fine." They toss the tablet aside. "Whatever."

*

They've made their favorite dish so many times that it's muscle memory. Once they assemble the ingredients, there isn't any need to think about it. Going through the motions is meditative in the same way that doing maintenance on the _Megalophile_ could be. By the time they're finished making the dish, they realize they're starving.

Cass heaps a third of it onto a plate and inhales much of that before turning on the vid unit as their mysterious "friend" asked them to.

"—still celebrating Rigour's defeat one year later." A pleasant-looking news anchor adjusts her cue cards and flashes a brilliant smile at the camera that's gone almost as soon as it's appeared. "But the celebration is tinged with great sadness in the Demarchy as its residents mourn the passing of its founder, Sokrates Nikon Artemesios and their siblings: Euanthe Akakios Themistokles and the Apokine Cassander Timaeus Berenice."

The image changes to clips of people around the Golden Demarchy, heads bowed and wearing mourning dress; the Apostolosians among them have their hair caught up in various mourning braids as well. Intercut are images of Sokrates looking pensive, Euanthe carrying themself with a regal mien, and Cass—

Cass turns the vid unit off. Sets their half-full plate aside. Their stomach churns. "That's not funny," they say into the empty kitchenette.

On the counter, their tablet beeps. "That's not funny," they repeat. At the edges of their thoughts, the sorrowful whispers brush up against their awareness. Echoes, echoes, echoes. They close their eyes and brace themself against the counter.

They can almost feel the way they interfaced with _Apokine,_ the way that their mind sank into it, the way they felt _connected_ with the hearts of their people. They can almost feel the rush of anger— _I've been an only child for ten years_ —the stab of loss— _I love you,_ Sokrates had said—the scorching heat— _I should have called Mako._

When their tablet beeps again, they realize they're huddled in the floor of the kitchenette, back pressed up against the cabinet door, their head between their knees, and they can't get enough air, can't breathe, their heart is going to _explode_ because they realize now that they _died,_ they were _dead_ and now… and now…

It takes several minutes before Cass can breathe again, during which time their tablet makes frantic chirps as their—benefactor?; captor?; "friend?"—tries to get their attention. It takes a few more minutes before Cass stops shaking long enough to lever themself back to their feet using the counter behind them.

"Shut up, I'm getting there," they grumble, though the quavering of their voice robs the words of any bite. But their "friend" hears and the tablet goes silent.

Cass swipes at the screen, watching as if at a great distance as their fingers tremble. The screen lights up and the messages begin scrolling.

_I'm not joking. This is not funny._

_Cass._

_Cassander._

_Please breathe. You're going to hyperventilate._

_You're hyperventilating. Take deep breaths._

_Cass._

_Cass, please._

_I should have found a better way to tell you._

They take a shaky breath. Then another. "Tell me who you are and what happened."

A moment of tense silence passes. All Cass can hear is their own heartbeat, the air filling and leaving their own lungs. Then another series of messages: _We defeated Rigour, though there were losses. Your siblings were lost. I was lost. You were lost, too. Or that's what everyone has been led to believe. I left my chassis before it was destroyed with the_ Kingdom Come _and have lived in the mesh ever since._

Destroyed with the _Kingdom Come?_ Cass swallows. Scrubs at their eyes with the heels of their (synthetic) palms again. "AuDy?"

_Yes._

A broken sort of chuckle escapes Cass's throat, even though they still can't find any of this amusing. "Sure. Why the hell not? It's not like this can get any more fucked up. What the hell happened? I died out there."

_Your body was destroyed with the_ Apokine, _like mine was destroyed with the_ Kingdom Come. _But you were connected to your people through the_ Apokine's _systems. Your consciousness was not destroyed, and I found it. You are on Kalliope because it was the best place to find someone to build you a new body._

"Great. Just great." They rub at their eyes, but their fingers come away wet. They're crying. Shit. "Why didn't you say something? I've been right here. You could've said something at literally any time."

There's a pause before AuDy responds. _You could have reached out to someone else at any time. Why didn't you?_

Cass recoils as if they've been slapped. They know why they didn't do it and AuDy knows it, too: on some level, they were afraid of what Aria might say (they're missing a year, after all). That's the only reason why they would ask the question. "Fuck you," Cass snaps instead of answering.

At least Cass knows how AuDy has been keeping tabs on them now. And why they'd been given so many mesh-connected devices. Living in the mesh, huh? Cass can work with that. They leave their unfinished dinner and their tablet on the counter, ignoring the plaintive beeping of AuDy's messages.

They go through their apartment collecting every portable piece of electronic equipment with a mesh connection in a pile and disabling the connection in the items that can be neither picked up or moved. The pile of portable things gets shifted to the kitchen, with the tablet being tossed in top. Its message indicator still blinks, and Cass still ignores it.

They yank open the refrigerator door. It's hardly empty, but Cass expects there will be enough room. Starting with the tablet, they place each item in the pile wherever it will fit and slam the fridge shut once they're done.

"Fuck you," they repeat to their effectively empty apartment.

The rest of their pasta has gone cold and it tastes like ash in their mouth, but they eat it all the same. The leftovers, too, go in the fridge before Cass turns out the light and shuffles back to their darkened bedroom.

*

Three days pass before Cass opens the fridge again, and then only grudgingly; they want squid ink pasta but don't feel like making a fresh batch. The lights on every device that still has a charge blink in discordant almost-tandem, some syncing up for a few seconds before falling into disharmony again.

Cass grabs the bowl of leftovers. Stares at the tablet on the top shelf. "Apole below. _Fine._ " They take it out, too.

As a concession to their own pride, they don't unlock the screen until after they've heated their pasta, eaten it, and washed the resulting dishes. There are no new beeps, so at least AuDy lets them have that much.

There's only one message when they swipe at the screen; AuDy must have deleted the others. _You shouldn't eat so much takeout._

Cass snorts. "I can put you back in the fridge."

_You would not. You wouldn't have company. You must be bored._

"You don't know that," Cass says, even though AuDy is right. There's only so much sleeping a person can do before it just becomes staring at the ceiling and wondering what they're even doing.

They reach into the cabinet next to the fridge, pull out a glass, and fill it with water from the tap. After draining it, they look at the tablet. The closest they have to looking AuDy in the face. "Why are we here?" they ask at last. "And I'm not talking in the cosmic sense. I mean, 'why did you have me grown in a vat and rent me an apartment?' What're you getting out of this?"

The screen remains blank for several minutes, enough time to drain the glass twice more. Now that they aren't ravenous and upset, they can tell the pasta was a little on the salty side. They glare at the tablet, silently daring AuDy to respond.

Finally, _You should shower. Those are the same clothes I saw you in last._

"Way to dodge the question," Cass mutters under their breath. "Real mature." But they let it go.

Instead, they take all the electronics from the fridge and put them back in their proper places. The tablet goes on the bedside table. "Don't think I'm going to forget this," Cass says.

They don't press the issue because AuDy is right: they've been bumming around in the same clothes they put on three days ago and their plait is in disarray from neglect.

*

Cass, as it happened, had forgotten how to be a good hostage, and the cut-throats who took them never knew how to be good hosts. By the time the rest of the Chime retrieved them, two of their guards were unconscious already, and Cass felt like they made a valiant effort on the remaining three. Unfortunately, they had also been stabbed in the thigh twice (the wounds were deep but shouldn't leave any lasting damage if treated soon), shot in the arm once (the blaster shot missed the bone and cauterized the wound, thank goodness), and stabbed between the ribs three times. _That_ was the bit that worried Cass the most.

It's the bit that worried Aria the most, too; at least, they guessed it was based on her expression as she held fabric torn from her shirt over the wounds. "We're gonna get you out of here. It's gonna be—"

"It will not be fine," AuDy interrupted.

"Peachy," Cass croaked, trying desperately not to laugh. Laughing after being stabbed was contraindicated, they told themself. To AuDy: "It'll be peachy."

"Stop talking. You're making it worse." Aria's voice shook. Shit. They must have looked really bad off.

"Gotta… gotta talk you through patching me up," Cass slurred. Aria tilted her head above them… no, wait, that was them tipping over. Shit. They tried to catch themself, but the most convenient arm was the one with a hole in it. They crumpled onto their side with a pained gasp.

The next thing they knew, they were prone, their shirt, pants, and rigalia had been removed, and someone had _definitely_ administered some anesthetic. That made it difficult to feel all their limbs, but they could move their head just fine. Even though their vision swam, they could clearly make out the familiar walls of the _Kingdom Come's_ medbay. A thin plastic tube snaked from the back of their hand up to an IV drip, and one of the monitoring system chirped as it kept track of their vitals.

In the corner of the room, motionless and with their systems running in low-power mode, sat AuDy. Cass tried to push themself into a sitting position, but the painkillers did nothing to stop the stabbing agony in their side. They flopped back down on the bed, strangled groan escaping their dry throat.

The sound was enough to "wake" AuDy; their head swiveled in Cass's direction as they came out of rest mode. "You're conscious."

Cass hissed, trying not to breathe too hard and aggravate their wounds. "Yeah. Kind of regret it."

AuDy stood and made their way toward the medbay door, pausing at Cass's bedside. "They hurt you."

"Yeah, I figured that out on my own." Cass shut their eyes and focused on their breathing.

"You usually have more sense than that," AuDy said, and Cass imagined that their voice sounded… exasperated. "I am glad you are alive." They lingered at Cass's bedside for a few moments longer. "I will notify Koda. They will want to examine you now that you're conscious."

And then they left.


	4. Mourning's Observation

Cass takes their time in the bathroom. They may have invited AuDy back into the apartment, as it were, but that doesn't mean they're ready to deal with them. Attending to the things they'd been neglecting (their hair, their scales, their gills) is as good an excuse as any to avoid AuDy for a little while longer. And it would get them to shut up about it.

Gill care comes first, because they've been ignoring that the longest. The skin at their neck is chapped, the edges of their gill slits puckered. There's a bottle of saline solution tucked away under the sink, which Cass takes, along with a jar of salve for their scales, some clean cloths, and a tube of lotion meant to seal moisture in their gill tissue.

The tub takes a while to properly fill, but only because the thing is so expansive. It dominates the bathroom and is large enough for Cass to sit in it while being mostly submerged. Probably a selling point when AuDy was shopping for somewhere for Cass to stay. Fuck. They aren't going to feel bad about letting AuDy stew. Not when AuDy did the same damn thing, and for more than just three days.

They run one cloth under the faucet while the tub is filling and use it to scrub at their neck. It stings; a good indicator that they've neglected it for too long, especially given how dry the air here seems to be. They rinse the cloth out in the tub and switch to the saline solution to irrigate the area while Cass holds their gill slits open. That stings, too, but it's only because their lamellae haven't been this damp since they fell out of the cloning vat. When the stinging eases, they set the bottle aside.

The tub finishes filling and Cass shucks off their dirty clothing before lowering themself into the warm water. The water here leaves a sort of metallic tang in the back of their throat when they let it cover their neck, but at least it isn't as bad as the water on Counterweight. Who knows, maybe AuDy sprang for a unit with a fancy filtration system, and the water in Kalliope's capitol is actually _worse_ than in Counterweight's domes?

It doesn't matter, though. The water isn't toxic and it's warm enough for the heat to sink into Cass's limbs. Only now do their synthware implants become obvious: synthskin is fantastic at replicating the look and feel of humanoid skin, but the scales on their forearms and shins don't glisten the same as the ones on their shoulders, ribs, and thighs. Or rather, they still shine while their real scales barely glimmer. O Apoannta, they really do need to take better care of them.

Once the water goes tepid, they take the other cloth and scrub at their real scales until the dead ones slough off. The scales don't shine like the fake scalework on their synthskin, but it's a start. At least they'll look better once Cass has applied the healing salve.

They toe at the button to drain the tub. As the water-level falls, they tug their hair free of its tie and run their fingers through it to undo the messy remains of their plait. It's shorter than they'd remembered and now they knew why: however long this body had been growing in that tank, it wasn't long enough for their hair to reach its real length. Original length. Length before they died?

Fuck. It doesn't matter. Their hair is a limp, oily mess that needs to be washed, brushed, and properly braided.

Their heart clenches in their chest. "Properly braided" means familial mourning braids. Two of them, one each for Euanthe and Sokrates. Do they even have the beads for it? Could they get them locally, or would they have to just pray they can find something similar enough to work?

Later. They can worry about that _later,_ because they still have to complete step one: wash their hair. And then brush it. And then dry it. And then—they take a deep breath in through their nose and let it out through their mouth. They can worry about that _later._

*

They emerge from the bathroom with their gills freshly moisturized, their scales sealed with ointment, and their hair pinned up in a minimal mourning style. They have no beads, no ribbons, none of the set of pins they'd kept after being discharged from the military and then fleeing to Counterweight. In some ways, it feels right that the braid they'd done for Euanthe is so spare. _I've been an only child for ten years._ But the braid for Sokrates should be fully adorned.

Except Cass has nothing but the things in this apartment now. And the latent ache in their chest as the reality of their situation sinks in.

The lights in the apartment glow a dim and soothing blue as if to compliment the hazy purple of the oncoming twilight outside the window. Maybe it had been a little unfair to make AuDy wait long enough that the sun was setting, but… fuck it.

Cass tosses their dirty clothes into the hamper at the foot of their bed and pulls a fresh set from their drawer. Maybe they'll order something less generic, but for now they content themself with the fact that the shirt is soft and the pants are the right length.

The tablet beeps. _I appreciate that you made this effort. I don't want to worry about you._

Cass laughs, a single sharp sound completely devoid of humor. "Then don't."

_I will. You don't take care of yourself if I do not remind you. I must make sure that you are well._

"What do you want me to tell you, AuDy?" Cass asks, crossing their arms over their chest. They take a bit of the fabric of their sleeve between their thumb and forefinger and tug at it. At the back of their mind, they still can't help but marvel at the fidelity of the sensation. They shake their head. "I'm not okay. Like two weeks ago, I was basically dead. That's… that's not…" They flounder for the words to put around _everything._

_Your hair looks different._

"It's not different. I just braided it." They pause. "That's another thing: you bought me a brand new body and didn't bother to get them to fix my gray hair?" The accusation comes out more tired than irritated. "What, was it too expensive?"

AuDy takes their time responding. Which means they're either going to side-step the question or try to be delicate in their response. Cass is ready to make a show of rolling their eyes when AuDy says, _I thought it would be best for you if you looked the same as you did before. I can have hair dye delivered if it bothers you._

Cass pinches the bridge of their nose. Sokrates would—they stop. It doesn't matter what Sokrates would have done. Whether they would have laughed or whether they would have urged Cass to dye their hair some wild color… it doesn't matter. Cass clamps down on the urge to tug a strand of hair from their braid. "No. It's fine."

_Is that an Aria 'fine'?_

"No. Yes. Maybe. I don't know." Instead of letting themself worry with their hair, they clasp their hands together. "AuDy, I was _dead._ The rest of my family is dead. That's… Why are we here? I mean it. What was your gameplan?"

 _There was no plan._ No further response seems to be forthcoming, so Cass tosses the tablet onto the bed and groans with disgust.

"This would be _so much easier_ if you had a chassis I could strangle," they growl. "And don't say a word about how I can't strangle you because you wouldn't need to breathe. It's not about killing you, because we've both already died once and that's one time too many." They wave one arm toward the tablet in a wide, angry arc. "It's the principle of the thing because you're being annoying, and—maybe—if I could wring your neck, you'd get the hint that this whole 'being coy' thing isn't working!"

Of course, having thrown down their primary means of communicating with AuDy makes continuing the conversation—such as it is—difficult. Cass huffs out a breath and picks the tablet up again. The message flashing on the screen is long enough that it's broken up into a couple of smaller parts by the messaging program:

_Life does not have a plan. Sometimes it is very capricious, and sometimes things happen for no discernable reason. Against all odds, the core of your consciousness survived the ordeal you experienced. It was a second chance. It's ridiculous to waste that. There was no plan except to preserve you. I had hoped that providing an organic vessel for your consciousness and creating a space for you to adjust to your resumed physical existence would be enough. I see now that there must be more than that._

"Holy shit. I think that's the most I've ever heard you say at one go," Cass says, deflating. "Or, you know, read. Whatever. Fuck, you're really bad at this. You can't just—just drop me off alone with a shitty name and a full bank account and expect me to be okay just like that."

_You are not alone._

Cass scoffs. "Okay, yeah, fine, you can't drop me off with a shitty name and a full bank account and _a fucking tablet to talk to_ and expect me to just be okay."

_How do I make you okay?_

"That's not—that's not something you can just _do,_ AuDy. That's not how this works." They pinch the bridge of their nose again and close their eyes against the impending headache for a few moments until the messenger app beeps.

_Then what do you want out of this?_

The words catch Cass off-guard. It's such a specific phrasing, and Cass reads it three more times just to make sure they aren't seeing things. Is it intentional? Or have they forgotten, and it's just a coincidence? Fuck, it would be so much easier if AuDy weren't just a handful of text on a seven-inch screen. But…

They swallow, surprised by the lump in their throat. Damn it.

"I want to know you're here." The words come out so soft that they're not really sure that any of the microphones pick them up.

The tablet doesn't beep again, so Cass sets it aside, stretches out on the bed, and turns out the lights.

*

The doorbell startles them awake. The sun is completely gone, leaving their apartment dark save for the city lights filtering in through the windows. It's enough to see the vague outlines of furniture, but little else. They sit up, swing their legs out of bed, and scrub at their face. How long had they been asleep?

Instead of ringing the doorbell again, their visitor switches to knocking on the door. It starts quietly, just a polite tapping, but quickly escalates to something louder and more insistent. Cass stands and makes their way to the door, blearily avoiding banging their shins and knees on anything in the process.

They fumble with the door panel but manage to open it before their visitor can start pounding on it. "What do you want?" Cass snaps before the door is even open.

On the other side of it stands a motionless robot with its hand paused mid-knock. It's fairly new, judging by the sleek design; and based on the synthskin cladding and the inclusion of a screen in its head that projects a humanoid face, it must be some sort of assistant. A butler or caregiver, maybe? Probably owned by one of the neighbors, though Cass couldn't fathom why anyone would send a robot to their apartment. They've kept to themself and they've been fairly quiet (though judging by how they've never heard any of their neighbors through the walls, Cass is willing to bet the soundproofing between units was good).

The 'bot's projected face remains placid and inscrutable. When it speaks, the mouth on the screen moves in vague time with the words, but it doesn't follow their shape exactly. Most likely a glitch in the facial projection system.

It takes a moment for Cass to realize that they missed the 'bot's response. Chagrined, they mutter, "Sorry, what?"

"I said, 'I was requested.'" Was Cass imagining the mild irritation in the words?

"I don't know who requested you, buddy, but I think you've got the wrong apartment."

"I do not," it insists.

"What do you—" A realization dawns on them. "Did AuDy—of course they did. Of course. I want someone to yell at and they're sick of telling me to take care of myself, so they ordered me a fucking maid." Cass drags their hands down their face and steps aside to allow the robot in. "Come on in."

The 'bot does not move. Instead, the projected face flickers (it's definitely glitched). "I did not order it. I stole it."

"You… stole…?"

"I don't want to worry about you," the 'bot continues.

And then it clicks. "Holy shit… AuDy?"

The 'bot—no, _AuDy_ —nods.

*

Things felt… different, after Cass's close call. They couldn't quite put their finger on it; no single incident drove them to the conclusion that things had changed. There just existed a strange tension where there had been none before. Mako and Aria didn't seem to notice, but Mako and Aria weren't exactly the galaxy's most observant people. And AuDy…

Well, that was the rub, wasn't it?

The next job involved splitting the team. Mako would need to infiltrate the building to fog the system and extract the data their client (Marshall Hangup) needed, but he would require backup on the off-chance things went bad, and a distraction to make sure they _didn't._

It seemed, to Cass's mind, a fairly straight-forward setup: AuDy would go with Mako as the best-armed member of the team, while they and Aria went in the front to provide a diversion. Who wouldn't be distracted by the sudden appearance of one of the galaxy's most beloved pop-singers and a disgraced Apostolosian scion?

"No," AuDy interjected as Cass laid out the plan. "I will go with Cass. It's better if I stay close to the vehicle if we need to leave quickly. I am the better driver."

"You used to _park cars,_ AuDy," Cass said. "Aria's a perfectly good driver, and you have a built-in shotgun."

"I used to park cars, but now I fly a ship," they replied with just a hint of indignation in their synthesized voice.

"No, I think they're onto something! I'm supposed to be sneaking in, right?" Mako glanced over at Cass, who nodded slowly. "No offense pal, but AuDy isn't exactly the silent type when it comes to stomping around."

"I'm _way_ quieter than AuDy," Aria agreed. "And if things get bad, I've got the _Regent's Brilliance_ for some extra firepower and a getaway vehicle."

"What about the diversion?" Cass protested, but they knew they'd already lost control of the situation before Aria answered.

"Oh, come on Mx. Amazing Tactician, I'm sure you can figure out _something_ distracting you and AuDy can do. Right, AuDy?"

"We will be very distracting."

 _Apotine preserve us,_ Cass thought before heaving a sigh. "Sure. We'll be very distracting."

Even the best thought-out diversion couldn't prevent a system's ICE from triggering an alarm, though; nor could it keep the entire compound from going on lockdown with half of the team still inside.

Cass tightened their grip on the pistol they'd stolen off a stunned guard. Behind them, AuDy fired off another shotgun blast which, from the sound of it, downed the guard they'd been aiming for. Into their comms unit, Cass snarled, "Where are you?"

On the other end of the line, a different gunshot rang out. "It's fine, we've got this," Aria said. In the background, Cass heard the unmistakable sound of Mako yelping and a body hitting the floor.

"Are you at the security checkpoint or did you make it to the target?" Cass fired off another two stunner rounds to drop the next pair of guards rounding the corner on them. They hopped over the two bodies and followed the narrow hallway until it ended in a closed door.

"We're, ummm…" Aria made a few vague sounds and then Mako responded too quietly for Cass to make it out.

"Stay there. We're coming to get you out."

"Cass. There are five incoming. It is unlikely we will be able to subdue them without using deadly force." AuDy's next shot nearly deafened them in the confines of the corridor.

"Do the best you can!" Cass shouted over the din. So much for a simple in-and-out job. Fuck, they hated running extractions.


	5. A Divine's Devotional

The first few hours with AuDy in their apartment—really _in_ their apartment, and not just a few mesh-connected devices—are bizarre. The new chassis is so fundamentally different from the one Cass remembers that it's difficult to think of it as belonging to AuDy at all. And yet, AuDy's mannerisms remain recognizable even after being formless on the mesh for well over a year.

The cognitive dissonance threatens to give Cass a headache.

"I'm not sure I even want to know where this came from," Cass says, more for the sake of breaking the silence than any real urge for conversation.

"I stole it," they reiterate. Or maybe agree. It's difficult to tell, even with the added benefit of an actual voice to put to the words.

"Right…" Cass sighs and shakes their head. "Listen, could you just… sit down or something? You're making me nervous just standing there."

With an eerie fluidity, AuDy complies, arranging their new limbs into a compact profile as they claim a spot on the sofa. Their head follows Cass as they continue to pace. After a few moments, they say, "You appear to still be nervous."

Cass snorts. "No shit." Their fingers go for the lowest loop of the braid they think of as Euanthe's and start worrying a few strands of hair free. They catch themself doing it and throw their hands up in disgust. "Listen, I appreciate that you're here. It's great, really. But this is all still kind of a lot."

AuDy gazes at them impassively. "You should take a walk. You haven't left the apartment since you arrived. Agapios has enough credits to enjoy local attractions." A pause, and then, "I will wait for you."

Cass makes a face. The idea of wandering Kalliope's capitol alone, with no particular destination and no knowledge of the area, holds no appeal. "I think I'll pass, thanks."

"There is an Apostolosian business nearby," AuDy says. "It is where I ordered the squid ink from. You should go there."

Cass pinches the bridge of their nose. "It's not even daylight outside, AuDy."

They make a noise that approximates a sigh. "It will be morning soon. You have enough time to create a grocery list."

"It's not going to take all night—you know what, nevermind. Fine. I'll put together a list of things I want from that store."

*

In the end, the list is short: hair jewelry. They don't share the list with AuDy, nor does AuDy ask. Instead, they give Cass the address and reiterate that Agapios has plenty of credits to their name before sending Cass on their way. The business is a little over a mile from the apartment, but the grid-like system of the capitol's streets make it easy enough to find the place without any trouble.

It's a small-ish storefront wedged between a couple of restaurants serving regional Apostolosian cuisine and a few doors down from an Apostolosian teahouse. This block, it seems, is populated primarily by expats.

After surveying the sign ("Gifts of the Sea" written in both galactic common and Apostolosian), Cass heads inside.

The door has bells mounted to it that ring as it swings open. The interior of the shop is only a little larger than the exterior would lead one to believe, and it is full of shelves bristling with all manner of Apostolosian comforts: pre-packaged snacks; skin-, scale-, and gill-care items; hair adornments. One corner even seems to have all the items someone would need to build a modest shrine to their chosen Eidolon.

"Ah, you're a new face! Welcome, welcome!" the proprietor calls from behind the counter. They look more than old enough to be Cass's parent, with scales gone dull with age, a pair of reading glasses perched on the end of their nose, and mostly-white hair piled up in an inelegant bun. Somehow, the shabby state of their hair makes Cass feel a little less awful about their own plain braids.

"Um, yeah. I just moved here." They slouch into their jacket. Maybe going out alone wasn't the best idea they'd had…

" _I'm sorry for your loss, child,_ " the proprietor continues, slipping into the Apostolosian tongue. " _It must be difficult, trying to make a life somewhere new with death hanging over you._ "

"It's…" Cass considers lying, considers telling this stranger that everything is fine. But hearing this elder address them in their first language, having them give condolences just from seeing their hair, it's impossible for Cass to follow through. "I'm sorry, presbuteros. It's… not been easy."

" _Hah! Don't you dare call me 'elder!' I'm not all white yet._ " The proprietor grins at Cass and spreads their hands palm-up in greeting. " _My name is Galatea Iona Stephenos. If you ever see my spouse, you may call_ olm _'elder.'_ "

Cass can't help but smile and hold their palms up in return. No one has called them 'child' in over a decade, but they let it slide. They speak their native language when they reply. " _It's nice to meet you, Galatea. I'm Agapios Zosimus Demostrate._ "

Galatea arches an eyebrow. " _Oh, your parents didn't like you much, did they, saddling you with a name like that._ "

" _Tell me about it,_ " Cass mutters, though they're not sure if they're referencing AuDy's atrocious choice in names or the tenuous-at-best relationship with their parents. " _Do you—do you happen to have mourning jewelry? Mine… got lost in transit._ "

" _Oh, child… You've lost your loved ones and then been unable to honor them properly._ " They slide out from behind the counter and shuffle toward one of the shelves in the corner with the Eidolon figures. Cass joins them. " _Here. I don't have much of a selection, but I refuse to keep anything that's not metal or real chitin. There's no resin or plastic in my shop._ "

" _Thank you,_ " they say, and they truly are grateful. The jewelry sets are simple, certainly, but they're real and better than Cass had hoped they could find. They select a set made largely of gold-and-shell pins with a mix of metal and pearl beads and a handful of ribbons in the color of each Eidolon. " _Thank you._ "

" _Of course,_ " Galatea says. They pat Cass on the shoulder as they retreat behind the counter once more. " _Let me know if you need help with anything else._ "

" _I will. Thanks._ " They let their eyes wander the nearby shelves for a moment, considering what other creature comforts they might pick up while they're here, when something catches their eye.

A tiny brass figurine of Apole sits on a shelf to Cass's left, their arms upraised and indistinct flowers blooming from their hair. It's a standard depiction of Apole, all things considered, but… Cass picks the figurine up. It fits in their palm easily enough but has a decent weight to it.

It's been years since they bothered keeping a shrine to their Eidolon, and even then they had always been a devotee of Apotine. But back then, they hadn't just been effectively resurrected after flinging themself into a sun. Maybe it's about time they started observing the tradition again.

They pick up a lighter, a few packages of incense, an offering bowl to burn it in, and a simple sea-silk cloth to cover it all when they aren't paying their respects. They spend a few more minutes perusing the other shelves, familiarizing themself with the things they could acquire later, before heading to the counter to make their purchases.

Galatea rings Cass up, once again arching an eyebrow when they wrap and bag the Apole idol. " _Hmm, I would've guessed Apoannta._ "

" _Apotine, actually,_ " Cass says automatically. " _Well. It_ was _Apotine. Things are… a bit different now._ "

Galatea's face softens. " _I understand. When we lost our youngest in the war, my spouse stopped devoting olmself to Apothesa and chose to honor Apole instead. For similar reasons to you, perhaps. No, no, you don't have to talk about it. But I'm here if you'd like to at some point._ "

Cass takes the bag with their goods and offers Galatea a weak smile. " _Thank you. I'll consider it._ "

" _Good. That's all an old fish like me can ask._ "

Cass pauses. " _Actually, may I ask you a few questions about the area?_ "

" _Of course, Agapios. I am always happy to help fellow settlers in a foreign land. What would you like to know?_ "

A lot of things, but most of them would be beyond the purview of a stranger. They settle for, " _Is that teahouse any good?_ "

Galatea chuckles and pushes their reading glasses back up so they no longer look in danger of falling off. " _Only if you aren't a traditionalist. The tea is good, don't mistake me, but the service is… shall we say 'creative' in what Helia Hemeros Spiridon—ote's the proprietor—chooses to observe. But I get the feeling that you didn't move here because you wanted authentic tea service, so I think you'll find it adequate._ "

Cass nods. " _Good to know. I'm guessing most of oter patronage comes from tourists?_ "

" _Oh, you'd be surprised. There's a fairly sizeable population of us here, but Helia does get some tourists and some other locals._ "

" _Good to know,_ " Cass says. " _Thank you._ "

" _Of course. Anyway, don't let me keep you. I'm sure you have much to do. But if you ever find yourself wanting for company, feel free to come by. I'm always happy for company myself._ " Galatea reaches up and gently taps the back of Cass's hand with their middle and forefingers. " _Safe sailing, Agapios._ "

How long has it been since they'd heard those words in their native language and received such a casual "farewell?" Not since they'd settled on Counterweight, at least. Maybe before. Cass smiles and returns the gesture with their free hand. " _And you, Galatea._ "

*

The jewelry is heavy, not nearly as fine as the set Cass had lost, but it's a comfort to properly adorn their braids. If AuDy has an opinion about the change in their hairstyle, they keep it to themself.

When Cass sets up their shrine atop the dresser in the bedroom, it's a different story.

"This is new."

"Yeah," Cass says, lighting the incense. They take a knee in front of the dresser. "I'm paying my respects to Apole."

AuDy cocks their head to one side. It's still strange to see this particular tic with this particular chassis. "I do not recall you doing this before."

Cass bows their head and raises their hands, palms up in greeting. The devotional doesn't call for silence, so they reply, "I didn't see the point before. When I was younger, I grew up being told that my parent was an Eidolon, that they ruled by divine right. Even then I knew it was bullshit. I did my duty and devoted myself to Apotine, but once I was in the military, I stopped doing my offerings."

"What has changed?" AuDy asks, and Cass barely manages not to laugh.

"Are you serious?" They shift into the next position, holding their arms out to make themself vulnerable before their Eidolon and show that they are unarmed. "My consciousness got broadcast across the galaxy by the physical representation of our main Eidolon. If that's not a good reason to pick the practice back up, I don't know what is."

"Hmm. I will take your word for it."

Cass straightens their spine and brings both hands tight to their chest. They tap the back of their right hand with the first two fingers of their left; a wordless farewell. Then they stand and face AuDy. "Don't worry. I don't think conservatism is in my future."

AuDy shrugs. "That is not my concern." They pause. "I simply wonder: I am still part of the Divine Discovery, and I found your consciousness in the mesh. By your logic, will you make offerings to me?"

Cass stares at them for a moment, dumbfounded. After a few seconds, they realize: AuDy made a _joke._ The recognition is so startling that they almost don't laugh, but once the laughter starts they can't stop. The idea of AuDy making a joke— _this_ joke—is almost as absurd as the concept of performing an offering for a fucking _Divine._

They have to put a hand on AuDy's shoulder to keep themself upright. AuDy extends an arm and Cass uses their other hand to steady themself with it. "That is the most ridiculous thing you've ever said," Cass chokes out between their fits of laughter.

"I have existed for 80,000 years. I believe I have said more ridiculous things." Unfortunately, this statement does nothing to prevent another fit of laughter. Before they can double over, AuDy guides them to the bed and sits them down on the edge.

Cass can't pinpoint the moment when the laughter turns to great, heaving sobs, but it does. It's not a single thing that they cry over. Rather, it's a conglomeration of so much: Sokrates; Euanthe; Galatea's kindness; the fact that Koda surely thinks they're dead; missing Aria's wedding; not bothering to tell Mako "goodbye"; losing the fucking set of pins. The list goes on and on, and Cass finds that now they've started there's no holding back the flood.

AuDy places a hand on their back and sits next to them in silence.

*

After the incense has burned out and the tears have stopped, Cass tips the ashes out into the garbage disposal and drapes the sea-silk cloth over the idol and offering bowl. That done, they retrieve the tablet from their bedside table and begin to browse.

Two days later, they receive the package they'd ordered, waving off AuDy's questions as they slice the padded envelope open. They dump the contents out into their open palm and use the knife they'd opened the envelope with to make their modifications.

Making a great show of it, Cass removes the cloth covering Apole's figurine and nudges it slightly to the left. Next to it, they carefully place their latest acquisition: a small resin replica of an outmoded Automated Dynamics parking unit with one arm and one antenna removed.

Satisfied, they turn to AuDy, a smirk on their face. "Happy?"

AuDy only makes a disinterested hum.

But they don't make any more comments when Cass performs their devotional to Apole.

*

Despite Mako's best efforts to the contrary, Cass and AuDy managed to get everyone out with minimal injuries and without having to bring in the _Regent's Brilliance_ or the _Megalophile._ Mako had even managed to get the data Hangup sent them in for, and the payout would almost be enough to justify the amount of time the Chime would have to lay low after delivering the goods.

Once they'd stitched up a cut over Mako's eye and debrided a massive abrasion on Aria's thigh, Cass peeled off their disposable gloves and tossed them in the garbage bin. Aria leaned up to plant a tired smooch on their cheek. "You're our favorite doctor," she said.

"Speak for yourself," Mako grumped. "Their bedside manner still sucks. Will I at least get a sexy facial scar out of this?"

Cass rolled their eyes. "I'm not some hack street medic. You'll barely be able to see it once it's healed."

"At least you can wear pants while you're recovering," Aria muttered.

"If it'll make you feel better, you can give me a skirt and we'll be skirt sibs," Mako offered.

Cass left the pair of them in the medbay to decide their fashion fate, heading for the cockpit. They'd been Marshall Hangup's contact; they were the one who needed to let Hangup know the job was done and arrange a place and time to deliver the goods.

The cockpit was empty. Just as well. Cass had no desire to explain why an obsolete Automated Dynamics parking unit was cleaning a shotgun just off-camera. They claimed the co-pilot's chair and dialed the contact number they'd been given.

"It's good to see your face, Mx. Berenice." Hangup's dour expression did not match her words. Cass didn't bother to correct her misuse of their eponym. "After listening to this evening's news feeds, I was… concerned."

"There's no need to worry," Cass said. "I just need confirmation of the meeting so we can finish our transaction."

Hangup glanced down at her console. "Coordinates have been transmitted on a secure channel. Do not be late, Mx. Berenice."

Cass verified the incoming data before nodding. "I'll be there."

The call cut out before Cass could end the transmission; true to her name, Marshall Hangup had hung up on them. Whatever. They could appreciate someone who didn't enjoy wasting time. Cass turned to the navigation system and began entering the meeting place information.

"That is the middle of a desert," AuDy said as they swung into the pilot's chair.

"Well, it's not like our contact is going to want to be seen with us in public after we almost blew up our target's compound," Cass said. They hadn't even heard AuDy come in. Further proof that they should never have let Mako talk them out of their original mission assignments. "Hell, _I_ don't want to be seen with us in public right now."

"No one sustained major injury."

"Thank Apotine for that." Cass shook their head. "At least we aren't due there for another six hours. We should be able to fly under the outlying scanners if we have to."

AuDy gave no response, instead turning their attention to the control panel. They ran through the motions of the _Kingdom Come's_ startup sequence, but Cass quickly lost the thread of their actions. For all that the _Megalophile_ was a more complex machine, the rigalia negated much of the complexity.

They watched AuDy for several minutes before they realized they'd been staring. Apothesa, the day must have been long for them to have spaced out like this—in the cockpit, no less. "Sorry," Cass mumbled. "I'll just—"

AuDy cut them off. "Your presence in my cockpit does not annoy me."

Cass blinked, startled. "Excuse me?"

"Your presence in my cockpit does not annoy me." Their voice seemed exasperated, as if the statement should be self-evident.

"Oh," Cass said into the silence that followed. "Okay."

They did not relinquish the co-pilot's chair, and AuDy did not mention it again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, Annie did [some gorgeous artwork](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/De71066U8AE87Zb.jpg), this time depicting Cass's altar. Please excuse me while I _die._


	6. Apostolosian Breakfast Blend

Armed with a local source for ingredients, Cass cooks and AuDy watches. The refrigerator fills with fresh fruit, vegetables, meats that must marinate, leftovers. More days than not, they have meals they made rather than meals they've ordered. It's easy to fall into the rhythm of it again, a hobby they hadn't had much time for in the wake of September.

AuDy perches (in as much as a robot can be said to perch) on a high stool nearby, their head cocked in Cass's direction. "You enjoy this."

The dish this evening is crispy snarlfish, crushed garlic, and spices wrapped in kelp and fried. They're almost done wrapping the last of the meat from the package (it's been freeze-dried, which will make the texture different, but it's just nice to have _real_ snarlfish) when AuDy makes the statement. "Yeah, I do."

"You did not do it much when we worked together."

"Well, it wasn't like the _Kingdom Come_ had a proper galley," Cass says. They run out of fish and kelp before they run out of garlic, but that's fine. The garlic will keep. "Besides, a life of sort-of-but-not-always crime doesn't lend itself to practicing culinary arts."

"I heard Aria say that you cooked during the trip," AuDy presses. They don't need to specify which trip; there was only ever the one.

Cass raises an eyebrow. "She did, did she?"

"Yes." But AuDy refuses to elaborate.

"I was bored and didn't know what we were going to find when we landed." They set the plate with the kelp-wrapped fish aside and turn to the sink. "It was stressful and lonely."

AuDy shifts on the stool. "You aren't stressed now."

"Yeah, and I'm not living a life of sort-of-but-not-always crime, either. I'm in an apartment by myself—well, okay, not anymore, but that's beside the point. I've been in an apartment by myself _until very recently,_ and I don't have a lot else to do." They run their hands under the faucet to rinse the worst of the snarlfish and garlic off. "And besides, didn't you keep telling me I was eating too much takeout?"

"You could take up a hobby."

"Yeah, I could. It's called 'cooking.' I think I'm pretty good at it." Cass sighs as they dry their hands and turn on the eye under the oil-filled skillet. "What's this about, AuDy?"

For a moment, AuDy doesn't respond, and Cass takes the time to package up the remaining garlic and put it in the fridge. By the time the oil is hot enough to fry the kelp-wrapped fish, Cass has given up on getting an answer.

"I worry about your mental health," AuDy says at last. "You should leave the apartment."

"Uh- _huh._ " They sigh. "You know I left the apartment to get the ingred—no, nope, nevermind. I'm not having this conversation until after I've eaten this dish, which I might add, I haven't had since I was in the military."

If AuDy intends to reply, Cass does not wait for them. They scoop several of the uncooked fritters into the oil with a slotted spoon and feel a little rush of satisfaction as they sizzle. Out of a petty desire to waylay further discussion of their hobbies (or lack thereof), Cass staggers when they add and remove the kelp fritters to keep up a constant crackle until they've all been fried and are arranged on a rack to cool.

Cass prods absently at one of them with a fork; they _may_ have overcooked them a little. They stab one of the first batch and pop it into their mouth. The texture is definitely off, but the taste is just fine. Rather than properly plating them, Cass eats half of the fritters straight off the cooling rack, nearly burning their tongue when they bite into one of the freshly fried ones.

Once they've had their fill, they look back at AuDy. "All right, fine," they say. "You want me to leave the apartment?"

"Yes."

"Okay." Cass shuffles the remaining fritters into a plastic container and put them into the fridge. "Well, I want to go see what kind of service I can get at the teahouse next to Galatea's shop. And since you're so gung-ho about getting me out of the house, you're coming with me."

If AuDy had eyes to roll, Cass suspects they might have done so. "I cannot consume tea."

"You think that's going to get you off the hook? I'm not going to go sit _by myself_ in a tea shop. You're really bad at this whole 'improving Cass's mental state' thing, you know that?" They sigh and shake their head. "Maybe I just like having company."

"Alright. I'll go with you."

"How magnanimous," Cass mutters under their breath.

*

A quick check on the mesh the next morning shows the teahouse is named "Blooming Star Aster" (after a popular floral ingredient in many traditional blended teas) and it starts its service in the mid-afternoon. Further investigation yields the first indicator that the service is less than traditional: dress is casual. Which works out well enough. Cass digs through their clothing for something approximating appropriate but has to make do with what AuDy purchased for them before their arrival.

Unfortunately, Agapios has an atrocious sense of style outside of casual clothing. At least AuDy has a working knowledge of that after the years they spent together on the _Kingdom Come._ More formal dress is… less than satisfactory. They pick a breezy dress cut in something like classical Apostolosian style. It's the least offensive thing Agapios owns.

AuDy watches them tear apart their wardrobe from the bed, silent and impassive until one of the discarded garments lands on their shoulder. "Is this necessary?" they finally ask, shrugging the tunic off.

"You wanted me out of the apartment. Now you have to deal with the consequences." They slip the dress over their head and tug it down. The style may not be to their liking, but the fabric is fine and it fits fairly well. "You're just lucky that no one expects a caregiver 'bot to be clothed, or I'd take you shopping."

They glance at the pile of clothing they couldn't bring themself to even try on. "Actually, I might just take you shopping anyway. Apotine below. What kind of person did you expect Agapios to dress like? Just because the name is shitty doesn't mean they have to _dress_ like it."

AuDy cocks their head in Cass's direction. "How is the name shitty? I named you after two notable Apokines of House Pelagios."

Cass shakes their head. "Zosimus Agathe Kleitos was a despot who nearly got the entire line executed, and Anastasios Demostrate Lysandra launched the most bloody war in Apostolos's history. Even worse than the Golden War."

The only response Cass receive is a low, "Hmm," followed by, "Will you be prepared soon? If we don't leave shortly, we may be forced to wait to be seated."

"We'll live," Cass says. They look themself over in the vanity mirror and adjust a couple of their hairpins. "Uh, pun not intended." In the mirror, they catch AuDy giving them what they are coming to realize is meant to be a Look.

They sigh. "All right, fine. It's only twenty minutes from here, tops, but whatever. Let's go."

Though the day outside is nice, a cab is waiting for them when they step out of the apartment building. Cass gives AuDy a pointed look. "Your idea?" They merely respond with a shrug that might mean _I don't know what you're talking about,_ or it might mean _I won't dignify that question with an answer._ Maybe both.

Probably both.

The cab takes less than five minutes to deposit them in front of their destination, which has only just opened for business if their site is to be believed. The fact that there is already a line of people (both Apostolosian and not) waiting to enter either bodes well or poorly, and Cass can't decide which. They scan the group (five Apostolosians and three humans, to be exact) and feel a little better about their wardrobe choices; they are not the most finely dressed individual seeking tea, nor are they the shabbiest.

"I told you we would have to wait," AuDy says, though it's impossible to tell whether they are being smug or petulant.

Cass rolls their eyes. "You're not providing a compelling argument for me to go out more often if this is what you're going to act like."

"I did not tell you to come here." _That's_ petulence.

"I can't take you anywhere, can I?" Cass groans.

"You don't know that. You have never tried."

The host, a young Apostolosian with orange scales and blond hair in an Apoanntan braid, arches an eyebrow at them when Cass steps up to give their name, and Cass just shakes their head. "Don't ask."

The host shrugs. "Party of two?"

"Yeah. Um, just… put it under Agapios. Please."

They only wait for ten minutes, the duration of which AuDy leans with their arms crossed against a wall while Cass tries not to fidget next to them. The host flags their attention with an upraised hand and gestures for them both to follow them to a narrow booth. AuDy waits for Cass to be seated before sliding into the seat opposite them.

A quick glance over the establishment yields further evidence of its less-than-traditional take on Apostolosian tea service. "Galatea wasn't kidding," Cass mutters.

"About what?" AuDy asks in a tone that is similarly low. It lends a conspiratorial sense to the conversation.

"They said that this place was more modern, but I didn't realize it was like _this._ " Cass points toward one of the biggest offenders, a member of the wait staff dressed in plain black clothing and with a tray of teapots balanced on one arm. "Look, if someone is serving tea, they should be wearing Apotean colors and should always be wearing white gloves so that you can tell they've not served you from leaky crockery. And there shouldn't be more than five seats per table. It used to be considered bad luck."

AuDy makes a humming noise that Cass can't quite tell if it's supposed to communicate encouragement or disinterested. They err on the side of caution and pick up a menu. One side is in galactic common and the other is in Apostolosian script. "Anyway, it looks like the selection is decent. Some classical blends and modern stuff."

AuDy picks up the other menu, but they have the common side facing away. Before Cass can correct them, they ask, "Is nightshade not poisonous to most species?"

Cass stares at them a moment. "It's Apostolosian nightshade. It's a mild sedative, but that's it." They pause. "I didn't know you could read Apostolosian."

" _I am the Divine Discovery. They are always broadening their horizons, therefore so am I._ " Their pronunciation is stilted, like a clumsy text-to-speech software, but… isn't that sort of what AuDy's voice synthesizer _is?_ The syntax is impeccable, though, and Cass has no issue understanding them.

Cass shakes their head, incredulous. "Why didn't you ever say anything?"

AuDy slides back to Galactic common. "You never asked." They say it with the same tone that they'd used to point out that Cass has never asked to take them anywhere, and that… Cass puts _that_ thought away and returns their attention to the menu.

They select a mild yellow blend made with tea and specially prepared white kelp and order a small pot when a server makes it to their table. AuDy cocks their head to one side, as if intrigued by the choice, but they say nothing.

The silence between them is broken anyway.

" _Why, I don't believe I've seen you around here before, stranger!_ " a tall Apostolosian with close-cropped black hair and matching black scales says. They're dressed very finely in an almost haute couture suit that has a high, stiff collar and wide sleeves. " _Though I can't say that I haven't seen your face before. Has anyone ever told you that you're the spitting image of our Empire's last Apokine, Eidolons preserve kis soul? Not as good an Apokine as kis parent, but one can't help but mourn the end of the line._ "

Cass shifts in their seat, keeping their eyes downcast for a moment before meeting the person's gaze. It's sharp and cunning and makes Cass distrust them more than they already did when the words _our Empire's_ did. They keep their expression as bland as they can when they answer. " _Yeah, it's come up once or twice. It's, uh, it's a shame. What happened._ " Apothesa, the last thing they need is to be stuck in a conversation about their own fucking death with an Imperial loyalist.

The stranger nods with a solemn gravity that further fuels Cass's distrust. " _Yes, such a shame. Ah, but where are my manners? I'm Helia Hemeros Spiridon. I operate this fine establishment. And who might you be?_ "

" _My name is Agapios Zosimus Demostrate, and this is my friend, AuDy,_ " Cass says with a wince. Before Helia can open their mouth, Cass continues, " _I know, I know, my parents weren't that fond of me._ "

Helia rolls their eyes. " _Oh, that's a plight I know well. But that name isn't so bad. There are worse statements to be made, but I admit those aren't the Apokines I'd have chosen for my own child. But I'm not your parent, hah!_ " They laugh as if the statement of fact is funny. Cass holds their tongue. " _So, Agapios, what is to your taste today?_ "

" _I ordered Scyllan Gold Frond,_ " Cass says, fighting the urge to sink into their seat. " _It seemed like a good choice for the weather._ "

As if on cue, the server who had taken their order arrives, sliding around Helia to deliver a stack of tea cups and the pot of said tea. Helia doesn't bother moving until the server has disappeared, at which point they reach out and pour Cass a cup. " _Here, allow me,_ " they say once it is too late to be truly polite.

Cass manages to hold their tongue, instead picking up the cup and looking at its contents. The tea is a warm orange-gold, and it smells fruity with the barest salty tang. They take a cautious sip, minding the temperature of the liquid, and find it to be as good as it smells. " _It's very nice,_ " they say once they realize Helia expects some response.

" _Ah, it's good, but hardly the best on offer here._ " Helia gestures widely in the direction of one of the servers who has their arms laden with clay teapots. The server's head snaps up, and they turn toward Helia. " _Here, here, Rheta, here!_ " Helia beckons, and the server comes over. Helia plucks a pot from the tray and then waves the server—Rheta—away. " _Special service, on me. The best I have; some indigo narcissus blend to give you a little taste of home."_  They take a clean cup from the center of the table and pour a generous serving of tea into it.

" _'Special service?'_ " Cass arches an eyebrow. They swish the tea around in the cup, watching the leaves swirl around the bottom of it. The color is rapidly changing to indigo; a good sign. Helia isn't lying, this is fine tea.

Helia nods, beaming. " _Yes, of course. I like to welcome our own to the neighborhood, whenever I see a new face._ "

Cass takes a sip of the indigo narcissus. The flavor is good: dark and earthy with an aftertaste like an electrical storm. Exactly what a good indigo blend should be. " _You mean you don't serve this to non-Apostolosians?_ "

Helia leans in close, a conspiratorial look on their face. " _Nah, I don't bother serving the good stuff for them. It'd be a waste. Human tongues only have three taste receptors on the whole damn thing! And they don't even_ have _olfactory senses!_ "

The statement is so egregiously wrong that it takes several moments for Cass to process what their host said. They open their mouth to form an objection when, across the table from them, AuDy's speaker emits a noise so alien that it takes Cass another several moments to realize what's going on.

They're laughing. AuDy is _laughing,_ and the realization hits them like a punch to the chest. All the wind rushes out of Cass's lungs and their stomach does a flip because in all the years they've known each other, Cass can't recall a single time AuDy had laughed, and certainly not like this. It's so… Cass flounders, trying to reconcile this moment with what they know, trying to find a word to describe the way they feel so caught flat-footed. AuDy laughs and speaks Apostolosian, and somehow Cass never knew.

Helia claps them both on the shoulder, tossing back their head to let out an uproarious guffaw. " _Hah! Yes, humans are funny little things. Anyway, I shall leave you to your service. Again, welcome to the neighborhood, Agapios! I think you'll find a place here just fine._ " They flash what Cass assumes is meant to be a winning smile and flit off to a different guest's table.

Cass watches them leave, and they aren't sure what expression they're wearing when AuDy's laughter subsides. Whatever it is, AuDy cocks their head to one side and reaches out to rest the tips of their middle- and forefinger on the back of Cass's left hand. Almost like a greeting but not quite.

"If you are distressed," they say quietly in galactic common, "we can leave." And that makes Cass's stomach roll, too.

"I'm not distressed," they reply though they don't know if it's a lie or not. "Except at their ignorance. Three taste receptors and no olfactory sense? What the hell?" Cass shakes their head and, without thinking, turns their hand palm-up so that AuDy's fingers are laid across it. AuDy's fingers twitch once, then still.

"Your heart rate is elevated. You're exhibiting signs of distress."

Cass picks up their cup, still half-full of warm liquid, and downs the whole thing, followed by the slightly more tepid cup of yellow tea. It stings their tongue and their throat but they barely register it in the face of AuDy's hand almost-but-not-quite on theirs. "All right. You're right. I want to go home. Let's pay the bill and get out of here."

*

The layout of the _Kingdom Come_ shifted in Cass's mind. The bulk of the ship had always been, to some extent or another, "common." Some areas (the kitchen, the medbay, the rec area) were more common than others (individual quarters), but it was generally understood that there was no part of the ship completely off-limits.

Except… the cockpit had always been AuDy's space. Mako or Cass or Aria could exist there, certainly, but there had always been an "understanding." They could be in the cockpit, but it was always something that AuDy tolerated at best. At worst, AuDy would aggressively ignore the offending interloper until they left. Now that they'd gone to ground in the wake of Hangup's job, Cass found themself hauled into the cockpit by an implacable metal hand on their shoulder. "I require assistance. Your assistance."

Cass managed to tuck their tablet under one arm before AuDy dragged them nearly off their feet. "O-okay…?" They catalogued the different things that might have gone sideways which might be best addressed by themself. The list seemed relatively short: something to do with their last job; something to do with a potential new job; someone requiring medical attention.

But the cockpit was free of injured team members (thank Apothesa), and the vidscreens remained dark. The ancient radio rig, too, was silent. The only thing that seemed out of place was an access panel that had been left open near the bulkhead. When AuDy nudged them toward the co-pilot's seat, Cass could only blink at them, baffled. "Uh…?"

"Stay there," AuDy commanded, and the fact that they were even doing this was strange enough that Cass didn't think to disobey. As they stood there, AuDy knelt next to the open access panel and rummaged around inside.

"Uh, do you… need help with that?"

"No." Their arm disappeared into the hole almost up to the shoulder. Cass heard a few metallic _clanks_ from inside the bulkhead—either AuDy's arm banging around or something inside coming loose. Probably both, given the way things tended to go when it came to anything mechanical on the ship.

AuDy fiddled with the guts inside the access panel for several moments in complete silence. Finally, they withdrew their arm, hand formed into a fist, and turned to Cass. "Hold out your hands," they ordered. Baffled, Cass complied.

The bafflement grew when AuDy dropped a handful of washers, two wingnuts, and a single bolt into Cass's upturned palms. Most of them were still covered in grease; all of them were worn. The threads on the bolt had been almost entirely stripped away.

Their hand now free, AuDy turned, picked up the cover to the access panel, and put it back in place. It didn't fit quite right, so they gave it a swift kick to make sure it stayed.

"Um." Cass looked down at the parts in their hand. "Do you… need these?"

"No," AuDy said. "Thank you for your assistance."

AuDy left the cockpit, presumably to go about the rest of their day, while Cass just stood there, dumbstruck.


	7. Coffee Doesn't Grow On Saplings

They don't say anything the first time it happens. Neither of them do.

It's simple: Cass takes their jewelry out of their hair, braids it into a basic plait for bed, and changes into their sleeping clothes. They go through their evening routine and then stretch out on the bed. It's still warm, and they see no need to pull the covers up over themself, so they just lie on top of them. Curl up on their side and face away from the window.

They don't fall asleep, exactly. Rather, they drift in and out of a doze punctuated by erratic dreams; not quite flashbacks, but not quite fiction. They pilot the _Apokine,_ they fence with Grace, September crumbles under their feet, Mako cooks kelp fritters and Aria complains that they're raw. They're Addax slipping their arms around Aria, who wears Jace's uniform. Aria's arms come up around them. Her hand rests on their chest. She leans forward, tilts her head up.

Cass jerks awake, gasping. They're back in their room, back in their bed, but the sensations of a hand on their chest, of an arm hooked around them lingers.

"You were dreaming," AuDy says from behind them. The hand on their chest tightens just a hair, as if readying to keep Cass from bolting.

"Y-yeah," Cass says. Their voice trembles and they hate it.

"Your breathing became erratic. I was concerned." As if that explains their presence in Cass's bed. Maybe it does; who's to say?

"Yeah," Cass says again. The gentle yet inexorable pressure of AuDy's hand on their chest pulls them flush with AuDy's chest. Cass tries to remember the last time they'd been so close with anyone, but their groggy brain fails to return an example. At length, they add, "I'm fine. It was just a dream."

The statement seems unsatisfactory, because AuDy does not move, does not disengage their hold on Cass. "I will monitor your vitals. This chassis has many features that allow me to do so."

"I'm not sure I want to know." Which is a lie. They're sure they don't. It probably means this chassis is definitely meant to be a caregiver 'bot.

"Go to sleep."

And it takes a while, but eventually Cass does.

*

Cass wakes up the next morning to AuDy's hand still on their sternum and a message in their inbox. They're not sure which one shocks them more.

The message is in Apostolosian script, which makes sense when Cass thinks to check the "sender" field: Galatea. _Forgive an old fish for presuming, but would you like to have coffee at lunch? Helia mentioned ote'd met you the other day and couldn't stop gossiping, but I wanted to see how much of what ote told me was utter flotsam._

Blearily, Cass stares at their tablet. AuDy hasn't moved behind them, and it's easy to imagine that they're asleep. They only make a movement when Cass shifts to prop themself up on one elbow; their hand slides off Cass's chest and rests on the bed to release Cass from their hold.

Cass turns their whole attention back to their tablet rather than think about AuDy's shifting weight behind them. With sluggish fingers, they tap out a response: _Of course. The only coffee place I know of near your work is that Constellation on the corner. Meet you there?_

There's barely a pause before Galatea responds with a simple, _See you at noon!_

The clock in the upper corner of the tablet reads 0831. Plenty of time to get dressed and a bite to eat before trying to ingest anything from Consolation Coffee. They push themself upright and swing their legs out of bed. They don't look behind them, but they can't help but bend their attention to the way AuDy's weight dips the mattress. AuDy still doesn't move.

When they get out of bed, AuDy does not follow. Cass releases a breath they hadn't realized they were holding. If AuDy spoke up, if either of them drew attention to it…

Cass gets up, leaves their tablet on the nightstand, and goes through their morning devotional to Apole. While the incense burns, they get dressed in slacks and a casual tunic before heading to the bathroom to redo their mourning braids. By the time they return to clear and cover their altar, AuDy has left the bed.

"I'm going out this afternoon," AuDy announces. "I have an errand."

This gives Cass pause. "A what now?"

"I have an errand." They repeat it as if Cass is being dense for not getting it the first time. Maybe they are.

"You haven't left the apartment since you brought that chassis home except for yesterday," Cass says. "What brought this on?"

"I have an errand that requires I leave. I must do so soon in order to return when I would like to."

"Okay…" Cass draws out the first syllable as they scrub at their eyes with the heels of their palms. "Right. Sure. Well, you aren't the only one leaving the house today. Galatea invited me out for coffee."

"Good," says AuDy. "Your sleep was subpar and you could use caffeine." The statement drifts perilously close to acknowledging how AuDy spent their evening but keeps enough distance that Cass can ignore it.

"Yeah, well. Evidently we made so much of a splash at tea yesterday that Helia was running their mouth about it." Cass huffs out a breath. "So Galatea wants to gossip, and since they're the closest thing I have to a friend—aside from you—I thought I'd go."

AuDy nods. "Good. I will meet you back here no later than dinner time." And having said their piece, AuDy leaves.

*

The Constellation Coffee is less busy than Cass expects for noon on a weekday, but it makes spotting Galatea's inelegant bun all the easier. Their eyes light up when they see Cass coming, and they wave them over with expansive arm motions. " _My child, come, order your drink and sit!_ "

Cass can't help but grin as they do as they've been bidden. They raise their hands palm-up. " _C_ _alm seas, Galatea. I hope you're doing well?_ "

" _I am, thank you. And calm seas to you as well. Let me order for you since I asked you to come out with me._ " Galatea returns the gesture and rises. " _What will it be, guppy?_ "

" _I'm old enough to have a kid, Galatea,_ " Cass says with an eyeroll. " _Call me 'guppy' again and I'll call you 'esteemed elder' so fast your head will spin._ "

" _Mm, nothing can faze you when you're as ancient as you seem to take me for._ " Galatea chuckles, not unfondly. " _J_ _ust for that, you are getting the most elaborately fruity drink on offer._ "

" _Just a latte is fine,_ " Cass tells them. _"I used to take it black when I was in the military, but that was years ago and I like having the milk._ "

Galatea arches an eyebrow. " _Military, eh? And milk but no sugar? I've misjudged you, Gapi. Where did you serve?_ "

Cass flounders for a moment. How much information about their service is too much? " _Just a few years in a field hospital on a couple of back water worlds,_ " they hedge. " _We barely saw any action._ " Though the action they _did_ see had been brutal. But letting on what skirmishes they'd participated in could lead someone to find their public records, so Cass keeps it vague.

" _Ah, yes. Our youngest was stationed in the Oricon front lines. It was… unpleasant._ " Galatea's expression grows distant, pained. But they shake their head and smile, though it is still tinged with sadness. " _But don't mind me. We did not meet to swap war stories. We met for coffee. A latte, no sugar, coming right up._ "

Cass gratefully accepts the cup when Galatea returns and takes a cautious sip. It tastes exactly like a Constellation latte normally does, which is to say not great but not terrible. " _So, since we aren't here to swap war stories…_ " Cass prompts.

" _Ah, yes. Helia came by my shop last night and had so many interesting things to say._ " Their smile returns and they take a sip of their own drink. A caramel macchiato if the label on the side is to be believed.

" _About me._ "

" _Among other things, yes._ " Galatea's smile is sly. " _Ote commented on how you reminded otem of the last Apokine, which I suppose I can see the resemblance. Ote also said you have good taste in teas, but ote wished you'd stayed around longer._ "

" _The selection was good, but I question oter knowledge of basic anatomy._ "

" _Oh, did ote pull the whole 'humans don't have noses' nonsense?_ " Galatea cackles. " _Don't worry, ote's just an idiot. A misguided, sometimes well-meaning idiot, but an idiot nonetheless. Flighty, too. I don't know how ote manages to keep that place running the way ote does. I'd have gone out of business thrice over._ "

Cass lets out a breath. " _I was worried you might've thought ote was right for a second there._ "

Galatea levels a scathing look at Cass over the top of their half-moon spectacles. " _Gapi, please. I understand we are not terribly good friends yet, but give an old fish some credit._ "

" _Sorry, sorry._ " Cass holds up a hand and ducks their head in apology. " _I_ _just don't know that many people here and can't afford to lose a potential friend to poor opinions._ "

" _Oh, didn't Helia offer to welcome you to the neighborhood?_ " Galatea scoffs. " _Hah! No your face says it all. How about this: my child is coming over for dinner later this week. You should join us. Meet tinem and my spouse. Have a home cooked meal._ "

Cass can't help but imagine what it might be like to have a meal that was neither takeout nor one they cooked themself. " _That sounds lovely. I'd like to meet your spouse and child. And try your cooking, of course._ "

Galatea grins and claps their hands in delight. " _Wonderful! I will send you my address later today._ "

They pause, then lean forward. In a conspiratorial voice, they say. " _Now tell me about that robot of yours and why you brought it to get tea… Helia mentioned it was a caregiver model. Are you unwell?_ "

" _Ah. Um_." Cass scrambles for words, trying to scrape together a good excuse for bringing a caregiver 'bot with them. " _Well. I hadn't been doing well for a while. AuDy—that's my robot friend—has been trying to get me on my feet. But they wanted me to leave the house and I didn't want to get tea alone._ "

" _Mmm, yes, that would have been bad luck, at least if you're the superstitious sort. They're your_ friend, _you say? AuDy, was it?_ "

Cass bristles; Galatea's words sound too much like a dismissal of AuDy's personhood. " _Yeah, my_ friend. _Their name is short for Automated—nevermind. Sorry. It gets irritating having people discount them just because they're a robot._ "

" _Ah, I apologize,_ " Galatea says, raising their hands in contrition. " _That was not my intent. It just seems a little odd is all._ "

" _'Odd' doesn't even_ begin _to cover it,_ " Cass mutters. " _Listen, can we talk about something else?_ " Something that doesn't tread dangerously close to revealing Cass's true identity.

Galatea smiles. " _Of course, Gapi. Anything you like._ "

*

Cass returns after lunch, wired from three cups of coffee and ready to vibrate out of their own skin. True to their word, Galatea had messaged Cass the address of their domicile right after they'd parted ways, and now Cass finds themself at a loss for what to do. They pace the apartment, clean every surface in the kitchen, and are neck deep in ordering "Agapios" a new wardrobe when AuDy returns.

"I am home," they announce, though it's hardly needed. When Cass looks up, they see that AuDy is holding a bag that appears to be full of groceries and another, smaller bag that Cass can't see the contents of.

Cass arches an eyebrow. "Since when do you go grocery shopping alone?"

"We required several items."

"I thought you wanted me out of the house more."

"You left the house," AuDy states, the first hints of irritation plain in their voice.

"Alright, alright, I get it," Cass capitulates. "You're your own person, just… don't go doing anything more illegal than whatever you're doing to keep our account full of creds."

AuDy heads for the kitchen and starts unpacking the groceries. They lay the other bag on the counter. "I have not done anything illegal."

An unspoken _yet_ hangs in the air between them, but Cass waves it away. "Great. So, what's in the other bag?"

"A gift. For you." They gesture in its direction. "Open it if you want."

Cass can't keep the surprise off their face. Not when something else entirely blooms in their chest at the concept of AuDy buying them a gift. They take the bag from the counter and open it.

Inside is a simple enamel pin in the shape of a seed with a sprouting plant unfurling from it. The image is stylized but still recognizable for what it is. It's heavy, probably real metal, and it fits easily into the palm of Cass's hand. "Thank you…?"

"I saw it and remembered that Apole is associated with plants," AuDy explains. "I thought I could contribute to your altar. Or you could wear it."

The fact that AuDy remembered their Eidolon only makes the fluttering in their chest worse. Their fingers tremble as they fumble with taking off the pin-back. "I'll wear it," they manage to say around the growing lump in their throat.

*

Things began to add up quickly after that: a metal hand on one shoulder to hold them back or haul them out of danger; the insistence on staying with Cass if the team ever needed to split up; a complete disregard for personal space (as manifested by moving Cass or their limbs as AuDy saw fit).

It didn't take long for Cass to snap. A particularly frustrating job punctuated by getting caught in the rain while waiting for Aria to pick them up, and their nerves were shot.

They plodded onto the _Kingdom Come_ while trying in vain to wring the excess water from their hair. AuDy carried Mako over one shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and it spoke to Mako's general state that he hadn't done more than grumble vaguely in complaint in almost half an hour.

"Will I be okay, doc?" he croaked as AuDy deposited him on one of the beds in the medbay.

"You are not dying," AuDy said.

Cass rolled their eyes and pulled a pair of disposable gloves from the cabinet. The latex had been powdered, but that only helped so much when one was soaked to the bone. "Stop talking and pull up your shirt."

"Oh, Doctor Cass, aren't you gonna at least buy me— _ow!_ " Mako cringed as Cass laid a hand on his side.

"That's what I was afraid of," Cass grumbled.

They tugged at the hem of Mako's shirt as he winced and tried to squirm away. "Changed my mind, don't care if you're a hot doctor, I don't wanna take off my shirt anymore."

"Mako…" Cass fought the urge to pinch at the bridge of their nose. "You have two choices: let me help you take your shirt off so I can fix you up, or don't and I will cut it off. Which, honestly, it's an affront to ocular organs in general, but I figured I'd be nice since you've probably broken some ribs."

"I'll just suffer with my shirt on, thanks. _Fuck._ " Mako hissed in pain.

"Mako." Now AuDy stepped toward the bed. "You will let Cass take care of you."

"You're not the boss of me!" Mako wheezed.

"I am your captain."

Mako squirmed further away. "Don't care. No one can make me do anything."

"Mako, you've probably got at least one cracked rib. Let me examine you!"

AuDy took another step forward. "I can restrain him."

Making an indignant squawking noise, Mako tried to wave Aria over, presumably as some kind of human shield. To her credit, she merely raised her hands. "Uh-uh. Not getting in the middle on this one."

Cass growled in frustration and pointed at AuDy. "You. Out. Now."

"Uh-oh, are Parent-1 and Parent-2 having a fight?" Mako slurred.

"You can't just say that," hissed Aria, giving Mako's shoulder a light swat.

 _Apotine help me before I murder every one of my crewmates._ Cass closed their eyes and counted to ten. Twice. "No, I am not going to fight with anyone, and I will _thank you_ to remember that I'm not your parent. AuDy and I are going to have a civil discussion that will not involve spouses, parents, or fighting. And when I get done, you're going to have taken your shirt off and will let me do my damn job."

Mako looked over at Aria, exaggerating his sad eyes. "Parent-1 and Parent-2 are gonna go have a fight."

Cass shouldered aside AuDy and fled the medbay without a backward glance. Not that they needed to look back to know that AuDy had followed them; though they'd proven they could move quietly, they chose not to.

"We need to talk," Cass said, all the anger drained out of them. Standing there, still sopping wet, tugging futilely at their gloves, they felt foolish for even saying anything. But the words were already out of their mouth.

"Alright."

They led AuDy into the cockpit, pressing the door panel so it slid shut behind them. By the time they entered, Cass had managed to tug the disposable gloves off and stuff them in a pocket to toss out later.

AuDy claimed the pilot's chair and swiveled around to face them.

"You wish to discuss something."

"Yeah." Cass shifted on their feet for a moment, feeling off-balance and unsure. After a brief moment of indecision, they claimed the co-pilot's seat. The vinyl seat covering squeaked beneath them. Their fingers went for the end of their braid, plucking strands of hair out of it as they stared at AuDy. "Listen, I know Mako and Aria haven't said anything, but it seems like you've been acting a little… I don't know, weird? Like back there. Back there was weird and not helpful."

AuDy shrugged. "I believe my behavior is within the bounds of normal."

"AuDy, you _invited me into your cockpit._ You don't want to leave me alone or with anyone else when we have a job to do. For fuck's sake, you're acting like you're my personal bodyguard." Cass paused to study AuDy: they sat motionless, impassive, nearly impossible to read. Except Cass knew them well enough by now to see the subtle way they leaned forward in their chair. "Tell me what's going on, here."

At first, AuDy didn't respond. The only reason Cass didn't suspect them of switching on power saver mode was the continued glow of their normal running lights. They sat there, motionless, staring at Cass while Cass started at them, for nearly a minute before speaking again. "I am invested in your welfare."

AuDy could lie; that was one of the key hallmarks of an AI that had achieved sentience beyond what their creators had imbued them with. The statement didn't _feel_ like a lie, exactly, but it didn't feel like the truth, either.

"Okay. Just… tell me what do you want out of this? This… whatever this is?" Cass gestured widely in AuDy's direction, as if that could somehow encompass the entirety of the past several months.

Silence stretched out between them, AuDy holding themself perfectly still as they (presumably) considered Cass's question and their own response. The only sounds in the cockpit were the whirr of AuDy's internal workings, the hum of the _Kingdom Come's_ engines vibrating through the floor as they idled, and the near-thunderous sound of Cass's heartbeat.

At great length, AuDy spoke. "I want you to be safe. I want you to be near. I want to know that you are here." They spoke it like a mantra. Three statements to encapsulate their actions ever since the botched hostage situation.

Cass could almost laugh at the absurd simplicity of it.

"That's it?"

"That is all," AuDy affirmed. "We must lift off now. You should finish tending to Mako." They turned their chair toward the controls, though Cass suspected that they still held some of AuDy's attention.


	8. Tokens of Favor

The days between their coffee date and dinner pass by in a strange haze. Cass uses the ingredients AuDy purchased to try out a new recipe they'd found on the mesh. The pin lives on their collar or on their lapel or on their chest near their heart, depending on the tunic or dress that they choose.

The day of the dinner finds them in a strange state of mind. They stand before the fogged up ( _Hah!_ ) bathroom mirror, fingers hovering over their jewelry. The pins and beads they'd removed from their mourning braids sit on the counter, arrayed in neat rows like tiny soldiers. The braids are easy, their fingers practiced at plaiting them, but they hesitate.

Would Sokrates _really_ want them to keep this up? Would Euanthe? Euanthe would have turned up their nose at the thought— _It's been more than a year since I died. Wearing them now is already gauche._ And Sokrates… It isn't difficult to imagine them rolling their eyes. _We're dead. You're not,_ they would surely say.

And they'd be right, wouldn't they?

Cass scoops up the jewelry and puts it back into the box.

Wearing a braid in line with their upbringing would only draw unwanted attention when they venture out next, and the same goes for the severe military braid from their days of service in the war. It feels wrong to go back to a simple plait. It feels even more wrong to let their hair hang loose while they wrestle their indecision.

They could research the braids that those freshly-devoted to Apole often wear… It still doesn't seem right, but it's better than going without. In the interim, they tie their hair back into a loose bun and venture out of the bathroom.

AuDy stands next to the door, close enough that Cass almost bumps into them before they register that AuDy is there. "Cass. I have something for you." They press a small box into Cass's chest.

"Um?" They take the box, momentarily shocked by the heft of it. "What—?"

"It is yours."

When no further elaboration seems forthcoming, Cass says, "Okay… what is it?" A few options pass through their mind: a gift they'd purchased (unlikely); a gift someone else had purchased (but who would do so?); and an irrational part of them thinks, _my hairpins._

"I stole it," AuDy says by way of explanation. "It is yours."

"What."

"It belongs to you. Mako took it when your personal effects were divided among your family members." AuDy pauses and tilts their head as if what they're saying is self-evident. "I stole it. It's yours."

And suddenly the possibilities open up. Hesitant and hopeful, they ask, "Is it my jewelry?"

AuDy shakes their head once. "Aria took custody of your adornments. She keeps them close. I have not found a way to take them without being noticed or causing her emotional distress."

"Emotional… distress?"

"She often wears them," AuDy states but does not explain further.

Apole below. Aria kept their jewelry; _wears_ it, even. It hadn't even occurred to Cass that Aria and Mako would have kept any of their things. And they can't think of any fate they would have rather had befall their jewelry. A soft laugh escapes them. "Good. Let her keep it."

"Alright. I will stop looking for a means of extraction."

"Right. Great." Belatedly, they add, "Thank you, AuDy."

AuDy doesn't say anything, but they nod and step aside so Cass may pass.

Cass retreats to their bedroom before actually examining the package. It's plain, and a little battered; a result of interplanetary shipping, no doubt. Though, on reflection, Cass isn't sure where Mako would have settled, and the package doesn't bear any clues. It is simply addressed to Agapios Zosimus Demostrate.

Inside the package is a smaller, wooden box with a set of brass hinges that Cass recognizes as having been one of their own. It had held a few knick-knacks on their bedside table at their apartment on Counterweight, and it looks as though it's barely been touched since the last time they had sorted its contents. Why Mako had chosen _this_ particular item to take, Cass can't figure out. _Maybe I can ask him one day,_ though that possibility feels as remote as Mako himself probably is. Their thumbs trace over wood and metal before finding the latch and flipping the box open.

The contents have shifted in transit (and who knows, Mako may have rifled through them even before that), but nothing seems to be missing. There are three ticket stubs from a show that Aria had invited Cass, Mako, and AuDy to; a handful of pebbles from the beach nearest the Pelagios winter manse; two metal slugs Koda had dug out of Cass's thigh after their battalion had come under fire late in the war; and six washers, two wingnuts, and a single bolt. All that remains of the _Kingdom Come._

Fuck.

They take a washer and hold it in their palm. The grease is long since scrubbed off, leaving just the dull metal and its signs of irregular wear. Cass had never gotten around to asking what system the damn things had come from, and now the point is moot. _Fuck._

Cass closes the box and stashes it in the bottom drawer of their nightstand. Leaving it out feels too much like an invitation, even though AuDy had never snooped through their things. This is too… weighty a thing, they decide. Too precious. Makes them too vulnerable if they leave it out.

It's only after they've hidden it that they remember the washer in their hand.

An idea forms, the shape of which is a little distressing, but not enough so for Cass to dismiss it outright. They set the washer on their nightstand, pull on a plain sundress, and palm the washer again.

When they make a beeline for the bathroom again, AuDy does not stand in their way.

They place the washer on the counter below the mirror and get to work.

The braid is fairly simple, but it isn't one Cass has practiced much. Their first attempt is clumsy, and they end up taking it down and redoing it twice before they're satisfied. The final touch comes later: a token from one's partner woven in at the end before the plait is bound off.

They hesitate. Apole, how did things get to be like this? How did they end up in front of a mirror in an apartment on Kalliope under a shitty assumed name putting their hair into a "dating plait" using a token from one of their best friends—who, oh, by the way, is a Divine stuffed into a caregiver robot body? They turn the washer over in their hand, watching the light glint off of it as they scoff. What a fucking mess.

Thankfully the washer is small and it's easy to thread a strand of their braid through the center. Easier still to tuck it up so it isn't immediately visible when they flip their braid over their shoulder. When they glance in the mirror again, they're almost disappointed when nothing looks particularly different other than their hair.

They shake their head and turn off the bathroom light when they leave.

"Your hair looks different," AuDy says with an air of polite disinterest.

"It's not different," Cass huffs. "I just braided it. Again."

"The braid is different."

Cass freezes, feeling like a foolish child about to be caught in a lie. But the momentary panic passes; AuDy has expressed little interest in most of the Apostolosian customs Cass chooses to observe. The chances of them noticing—let alone caring—that Cass had chosen a style different from the one they'd worn before the September incident were near-zero. "Yeah, well, I can't stay sad all the time, right? Got to move on with my life."

And what a joke _that_ statement is.

Keeping their fingers from tugging at their braid takes every ounce of will that Cass possesses. The weight of the washer weaved in at the end rests between their shoulder blades, both a comfort and an accusation.

*

They arrive at Galatea's home, a unit in a cozy-looking apartment on the outskirts of what Cass has begun to think of "Little Apostolos." They only have to knock on the door once.

Galatea grins from ear to ear as they open their door and raise their hands in greeting.  " _Depths below, do my old eyes deceive me? You've changed your hair!_ "

Cass ducks their head, shrugging. " _It was time. I don't think my sibs would've wanted me to keep it up, you know?_ " Belatedly, they return the greeting.

The grin turns into a soft, sad smile. " _I know. It was a long time before I realized that myself after Vanessa died. But you didn't come here to listen to an old fish ramble about past hurts. You came here to have a home-cooked meal! Come in, come in!_ " They step aside, allowing Cass entry into their home.

The apartment is cozy and warm, decorated with an eye for classical aesthetic: a couple of sea silk wall hangings; burnished wood furniture with coral inlays; a pair of matching shrines to Apole and Apote. It smells like incense and baking fish and _home._ Cass smiles down at Galatea. " _Thank you for inviting me. Your home is lovely._ "

Galatea returns the smile and rests a gentle palm on their elbow. " _Come, come. I can see it on your face, I'm not blind. It's been too long since anyone's cooked you a proper meal._ "

" _I can cook,_ " Cass protests.

" _But no one has cooked_ for _you since you got here, hmm? That's what I thought._ " They guide Cass into the dining area (more of an extension of the kitchen, really) and gesture for them to sit down. " _So, guppy, tell me about your beau. Hah, you thought I missed that, did you?_ "

Cass ducks their head again, feeling their cheeks flush. They hadn't been thinking about seeing Galatea when they braided their hair this morning. " _It's… complicated._ "

Galatea nods, their face growing solemn. " _So is life, I'm afraid. Still, surely you can spare this old fish a few morsels? At least tell me their Eidolon._ "

" _Oh, uh… they aren't Apostolosian,_ " Cass says, finally giving in to the urge to toy with the washer woven into their braid. " _They're, uh… they're a Diasporan._ " The statement feels less like a lie and more like an understatement. What was more Diasporan than a fucking _Divine?_

" _Oh-ho! A Diasporan, hmm?_ " They pat Cass on the elbow. " _No wonder you say it's complicated. That's fine. Did you move here together? When can I meet them?_ "

" _If you keep up with this, I'll call you 'elder' again,_ " Cass says without any heat.

" _You're right, you're right. My child calls me a meddlesome net, trying to catch everything that swims by. Don't mind me, Gapi._ _Speaking of my child… Xenia Baruch Damaris,_ " Galatea calls over their shoulder, " _if you don't come meet our guest, I'll make sure ol gets your share of dessert!_ "

Cass can't hide the grin spreading on their face at Galatea's tone, the universal parental voice that strikes fear in the hearts of children everywhere.

Someone a little younger than Cass pokes their head in from the kitchen. They have dark hair and scales, and they are the spitting image of Galatea. Cass's grin grows wider, and they hold their palms up in greeting. " _I'm Agapios Zosimus Demostrate. It's a pleasure to meet you._ "

Xenia holds their hands up as well. " _Xenia Baruch Damaris, but everyone but my parents calls me Xenni._ " They make a face in Galatea's direction, which they return in kind, followed by a smile. Xenni continues, " _My baby, Euanthe, is in the other room, sleeping._ " They put special emphasis on the last word.

The name makes Cass's heart clench. It isn't a common one; there is almost no way this child hadn't been named after their sibling. Possibly even while they'd still been alive, depending on the age of the child. Of-fucking-course this happens right after they choose to take down their mourning braids. Fuck. They fight to hold their expression in place, to keep the sudden rush of sadness off their face, but the way Galatea and Xenni look at them tells them they've failed.

" _Are you all right?_ " Galatea asks, voice gentle.

" _Sorry, I…_ " They flail for the right words. The right almost-lie. They settle on most of the truth. " _One of my siblings who died in the conflict with Rigour… tea was named after the former heir, too._ "

Xenni's expression goes soft with their own sadness. " _I understand. My sib died in the Golden War. Anns death still hurts even this far out._ "

Galatea rests a sympathetic hand on Cass's shoulder. " _Come on, Gapi. Let me introduce you to my spouse and get some good food in you. You'll feel better for it._ "

Cass nods and lets Galatea and Xenni herd them into the dining room.

*

As soon as they get home that night, Cass slumps with their back against the door. The lights are off (why would AuDy need them in Cass's absence, if they were even home at all?), which is just as well. It feels fitting.

They'd taken down their mourning braids, but now, in the wake of baby Euanthe grabbing hold of their hair and drooling on their shoulder, they realize how fresh the wounds still are. Or maybe _fresh_ is the wrong word. More like _old_ and _deep._ Eidolons below, how long had Cass spent resenting Euanthe? Especially at the end? They'd said they'd been an only child for a decade, and in the moment, they'd meant it. Had wanted to hurt Euanthe as badly as they'd been hurt.

But that was before there would be an aftermath. Before there would be time to remember that they'd all loved each other once. Maybe could have loved each other again.

They let their head fall back against the door, heedless of the thump.

Fuck.

The tears come in a rush; one moment their eyes are dry and the next they're nearly sobbing. Their hands clench and unclench where they rest on their knees. Why had the _Apokine_ chosen to save them? Why had _AuDy_ chosen to reassemble the pieces? Why had they been such an ass to the people who loved them?

They don't hear AuDy approach, aren't even aware of AuDy's presence until they lights slowly turn on so the room is bathed in a low blue glow. AuDy sits next to them but does not touch them. On a quiet volume setting, they say, "Cass."

It's enough to drag their attention outward again, and they turn to face AuDy. Tears still blur their vision. "Yeah."

"You are upset." A statement with no judgement behind it.

Cass nods. "Yeah."

"Will you talk about it?"

"Not…" _Not ever,_ they want to say, but… hadn't refusing to talk to people—a certain person—been how they ended up here, sobbing about their dead sibling? So they don't say it. Instead, they settle on, "Not now."

AuDy reaches up, slowly enough that Cass can move away if they so choose, and rests one hand on Cass's shoulder. The implication is clear: _I am here._

Cass leans into the touch, just a little, and they stay like this until the tears finally stop.

*

As a general rule, Cass tried to decline any job that involved showing up at a party. Unfortunately, Aria and Mako were the ones to get the gig, and now Cass had to live with the consequences. _I want to dress up_ is never a good reason to make a decision, but here they were.

"Don't look at me like that," they grumbled at the combined pouts of Aria and Mako. "You got us invited to a gala opening, and people are going to expect us to be able to do ballroom dancing."

From his spot, sprawled across the couch, Mako groaned. "This sucks. Can we cancel and just bum around here in fancy clothes and shit?"

"We will be receive a large sum of money," AuDy replied as if that settled the matter. Which… As much as Cass hated to admit it (as badly as they did _not_ want to have such a high-profile job, where their face might end up in the papers), it did. The _Kingdom Come_ needed a new set of thrust stabilizers and Cass needed more anaesthetic for the medbay.

"It'll still be fun," Aria said as she rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet. "Think about it! Flowing dresses, a live string quartet, fancy hors d'oeuvres… It'll be great!" She turned her attention to Cass. "Alright, show us what you got."

Cass sighed. There was no getting out of this. "Alright, I'll show you all the basic moves and then we can practice together. I'm going to need a volunteer to go first—"

Before they'd finished their sentence, AuDy stepped forward. "I will dance."

Mako sat up. "Whoa. This I gotta see."

They ignored Mako's comment and focused on AuDy. "Okay. What do you know about a basic waltz?"

"People move together, often in time to the beat of the music," AuDy said.

"Sometimes they step on each other's feet," Mako added.

Aria piped up, too. "And it's not nearly as interesting as most of the stuff I've had to do on-stage."

"Well, I guess that's _something,_ " Cass groaned. "Alright, stand right in front of me and hold out your hands."

AuDy did as they were told, and Cass arranged their limbs—so different to be the one arranging AuDy as they saw fit, when generally AuDy was the one to manhandle them—so that one hand rested on Cass's shoulder and they held Cass's other hand.

"Okay. Right now, I'm leading. Mako, could you put on the music I have queued?"

Mako didn't respond, rather he flicked his fingers over some sort of mesh visualization he could see and a classical Apostolosian piece drifted through the speakers in the common room. "Alright, now we do what you said: you have to move on the beat, like this." On the first downbeat of a measure, Cass stepped to the side and pulled AuDy with them.

They weren't sure what they expected, but AuDy was responsive to their lead and easily avoided stepping on Cass's toes or starting to breakdance like one of Aria's backup dancers.

After a few minutes, AuDy dropped their hands and took a step backwards. "I believe I have sufficiently studied this dance."

"Yeah," Cass agrees, taking their own step back. "You're good to go. Now, you two…"


	9. A Patient Most Terrible

For all that they've had years of experience on top of years of training, none of it means a damn thing when the muscles those memories have been drilled into aren't the ones currently being used. Cass is halfway to Constellation Coffee when they hear the unmistakable sound of gunfire. It lacks the distinctive report of most of the commonly available Apostolosian weapons, but that doesn't mean much.

The first shot is followed by two more in quick succession and a yelp. It's enough for Cass to figure out where the altercation is happening and take off running. With Apothesa's blessing, maybe they'll even make it to the scene in time to keep someone from fucking dying.

Whatever it had begun as, things have progressed such that the sight greeting Cass is a grim one: one person is already on the ground in a growing pool of blood, the remaining two are bleeding, and one of them has the other held at gunpoint.

They don't even think about it; they dive for the assailant's gun.

They almost have control of the gun arm, but they're sloppy. Pain, nearly blinding, blossoms on their side as the assailant pulls the trigger twice more. Cass grabs the gun, though, and pistol-whips their attacker across the face. When they fail to go down, Cass tries it again. On the third attempt, the attacker crumples in a heap.

Cass sets the gun on the ground and kicks it away. To the person still standing, they say, "Call emergency services. Now."

Then the street below them tips, and everything goes black.

The world exists in only a handful of images after that, like keyframes in an animation that have been scattered on a film reel; everything comes in short bursts, out of order. Lights whizzing by overhead. Sirens. Two gunshots. Antiseptic. Distant chatter that Cass can't quite understand. _Where's AuDy? Someone needs to tell AuDy._

When they finally swim back to consciousness, they almost retch from the taste of topical antiseptic in the back of their throat. The last time they remember tasting it was when they'd been in a medical facility not used to caring for Apostolosians. _Fuck._

They sit up, sputtering and scrambling for a nurse call button, but someone is already there. "Mx. Demostrate, it's good to see you're awake," she says in a soothing voice. When Cass can finally focus, they see she is a petite woman with half of her head shaved and two piercings each in her left eyebrow and bottom lip. She gives them a winsome smile. "I'm Prism Parallax, your nursing assistant. It was a little touch and go there for a minute, but you struck me as a fighter. I knew you'd pull through."

"What," they croak, not quite able to turn the syllable up at the end to make it a question. "Where…"

"You're at Maria Treatise Hospital and Trauma Center, in the trauma recovery ward," Prism says. "Unless you're asking after… 'AuDy,' was it? Yeah! AuDy. If you're asking after AuDy, they're in probably in the waiting room. We don't typically let people have robot assistants back in the patient areas, but the emergency crew still called for them like you asked."

"They're my…" Cass trails off, trying to work through the brain fog to find a title for AuDy that would make Nurse Parallax allow them to stay with Cass. "They're… AuDy's…" When they fail to produce any meaningful words, Cass just makes a pained growl. "Please, let them in. I have to… I have to see them."

Prism smiles again. Cass recognizes the expression; they've seen it on nurses in countless medical facilities. That placating smile meant to calm a difficult patient. "I'll see what we can do, Mx. Demostrate. Would you like anything else? Water? A snack?"

Finally, Cass's brain turns up a phrase that might yield the results they want. "AuDy's my… emotional support robot. I'm… I get pretty upset without them. They help my… my post-traumatic…" They wave their hand helplessly. "You know what I mean."

Her expression softens. "I do. Don't worry, I'll see what I can do. And I'll go ahead and get them to bring you some water if they're allowed back."

"Please," they say, suddenly reminded of the vile taste in their gills. Rinsing their neck is out of the question but experience tells them that flushing their throat will help, at least a little.

Nurse Parallax nods. "Of course. I'll be right back."

She leaves Cass alone to listen to the quiet hum of the machine monitoring their vitals and the bustle of a trauma unit on the other side of the door. The sheets are scratchy, the hospital gown stiff, and now that they know water is on its way, they realize how dry everything feels.

What is either a few minutes or a few weeks later, the door opens again. Holding a tiny paper cup, AuDy enters, and it would be shameful how happy Cass is to see them except for the part where they got _shot._ They try to take the water from AuDy's grasp, but AuDy catches their wrist and holds their fingers to the pulse point there, only for a moment, before letting Cass have their hand back. ( _Does that even work on synthware?_ Cass wonders, but they realize that it must for AuDy to have bothered.) They go to pass the cup back to Cass, but pull back when Cass reaches for it. "No. Do not use that hand."

Cass blinks up at them, confused. "What…?"

AuDy takes Cass's hand in their free one and turns it palm-up. "Form a fist."

Cass blinks up at them again. "Okay…" But when they try to do as they've been asked, their fingers refuse to move.

"Your hand sustained damage when you were injured," AuDy informs them, setting their unresponsive hand on the bed next to them and holding out the water cup for Cass to take with their other hand. "The doctor believes you may have fallen on it and that's why it no longer functions. I believe the workmanship to be subpar if this is the case."

_Oh._ They try to form a fist again, less because they disbelieve AuDy and more because it's just something to do. Or _not do,_ as the case may be. They drain the cup and have AuDy refill it twice more before their throat feels anything close to normal.

"I don't guess you bought a warranty on my limbs, huh?" Cass asks after a moment.

The sound AuDy makes is ugly and barely recognizable, but it's still a laugh.

*

"Emotional support robot" had evidently been the correct term to invoke, because Prism does not try to usher AuDy out when she returns to do her rounds. Instead, AuDy installs themself in one of the chairs next to the hospital bed and observes while Prism performs her duties.

The next two days are characterized by dropping in and out of a dozing state induced by the painkillers. Each time Cass wakes up, AuDy has two fingers pressed to their wrist as if they don't trust the machines. Every time Cass slips back under, AuDy is watching. It puts Cass in mind of that one time they got injured, and that realization mixes with the painkillers to form a warmth in their chest that lets them rest easy knowing AuDy is _there._

On the third day, the hospital discharges them with all the necessary supplies and instructions to care for their wounds. Cass remembers how much of a pain in the ass getting shot is and makes a face at the bag that contains the paperwork, supplies, and their belongings.

They barely even register the cab ride home. The only things that matter are fact that they're no longer in a hospital gown, they have their personal effects back, and AuDy is still with them. Cass lets themself smile at that thought, lets themself slump against AuDy while they doze. The position isn't comfortable, but being drugged to the gills (they giggle at _that_ thought) has its perks because they're able to ignore the discomfort.

When AuDy rouses them, most of their good humor is gone, and they're downright annoyed by the time AuDy opens the door.

"I want to take a hot bath and irrigate my gills," Cass declares as soon as they've crossed the threshold into their apartment. They don't even wait to take two steps in before they're shedding their clothing to that end.

"You are injured," AuDy states. As if Cass needs to be reminded. "You should avoid activity that will put strain on your injury."

"It's _fine,_ AuDy," Cass protests. The haze of the painkillers makes it easy to argue, especially when they're already most of the way to the bathroom. They leave their shoes by the door with their skirt next to them, and they've started to pull their shirt over their head by the time they realize their mistake. What had been a twinge in their side blooms into full-blown agony when they stretch themself just a little too far. "Fuck!" they wheeze.

AuDy's hands are there within moments, tugging the fabric out of Cass's grip and pulling the fabric over Cass's head. "Take a deep breath," they say. "I will help you sit down."

Cass does as they're instructed, letting AuDy guide them to the sofa while they breathe through the pain. Even breathing hurts, but it beats the alternative of keeling over. They cross their arms on their knees and bend forward to keep from hyperventilating. AuDy sits next to them, a hand on their back, doubtless collecting readings about their vitals. Through clenched teeth, Cass manages to grind out, "I do _not_ want to smell like antiseptic all night and I want to stop having blood in my hair. I'm taking a bath as soon as I can stand up."

"There is no blood in your hair."

"It _feels_ like there's still blood in my hair," they mutter. There's a beat and then AuDy's hand withdraws. Cass turns their head to find them standing up. "AuDy…?"

"I will draw a bath and assist you to ensure you do not worsen your injury." They stand there, as if waiting for Cass to say something, to object. Or as if they can't decide whether to say something more. The moment passes as silently as it came on, and AuDy leaves. A minute later, Cass hears the unmistakable rush of water filling the tub.

Thank fuck. They can _still_ taste the antiseptic in the back of their throat. The idea of sinking into a tub of hot water and letting it permeated them makes them almost want to cry with relief.

_For someone who's supposed to be a doc, you sure do hate hospitals,_ Mako had said once.

_I_ am _a doctor,_ they had responded irritably, _and being a doctor doesn't make the whole hospital experience better. In fact, it makes it worse because you know when they fuck up but you can't do anything about it._

Fuck, everything hurts. At least the "pain" signals from the broken synthware could be turned off. The only bright side of their hand not working. Being "rendered non-functional." Whatever.

They groan. " _Fuck._ "

*

AuDy helps them stand and ushers them into the bathroom as soon as the tub has been filled. Cass waves them off when they try to assist with removing their undergarments—they want to pretend they still have _some_ dignity—but they let AuDy provide support as they step into the water.

"Your bandages will need to be reapplied if you take more than half an hour in the bath," AuDy warns.

"Guess we're reapplying bandages later," Cass says absently. "You know I used to do this for a living, right? I know what I should and shouldn't be doing here."

"You do not do a good job of taking care of yourself, and you are on heavy narcotics. I would not trust you to take care of a plastic aloe plant."

Cass rolls their eyes as they lower themself into the water. It's not as warm as they would have liked, but it'll do. The bandages keep a seal over their wounds as those get lowered in, too. "I can take care of myself. Can you hand me my saline rinse?"

AuDy pulls the bottle from its place under the sink and brings it to the tub. Rather than giving the bottle to Cass, they make a vague hand motion that Cass is too fuzzy-headed to interpret. Upon failing to get their point across a second time, AuDy says, "Please move forward."

"Okay…" Cass scoots forward, befuddled.

Without further warning, AuDy steps into the tub and settles in behind them. "I will irrigate your gills," they declare. They brush aside Cass's hair, synthskin cool enough to raise a prickle of gooseflesh along Cass's neck. A part of Cass wishes they could flinch away, but the rest of them is paralyzed by a combination of narcotics and unease. They don't dare turn their head, can't quite figure out how to form words. They hear AuDy flip open the lid, then feel them run their fingers over Cass's neck again.

The water is warm, but they find themself shivering. AuDy uses the very tips of their fingers to expose the filaments so they can irrigate the area, and Cass sucks in a breath when the cold saline hits the tissue. AuDy stops, withdraws their hand. "Cass—"

"I'm good," they interrupt. Their voice is hoarse. AuDy waits for a moment before pressing the pads of their middle- and forefinger to the pulse point below Cass's jaw. Of course they'd check Cass's vitals. They swallow and pray to Apotine that their heartbeat is less ragged than it feels.

It must be. Seemingly satisfied, AuDy returns to their work, their touch gentle but thorough. By the time the gills on the right side of Cass's neck have been flushed, they can only barely taste the acrid antiseptic on the back of their tongue. AuDy takes similarly thorough care of the gills on the left side of their neck until the only things in Cass's throat are the taste of the saline solution and a tightness Cass does not want to examine further.

"Thanks." Cass's words are still raspy.

"You're welcome," AuDy says. Their hands withdraw again, and Cass takes the opportunity to slink down into the water until they are completely submerged.

The warm water is a shock to their gills of a different sort, but it's clean and feels nice and Cass can breathe easily with the water letting them pretend that the rest of the world doesn't exist. The only sounds are the faint sloshing as Cass settled themself and barest hum of AuDy's internals, magnified by being in the water.

When they finally sit back up, AuDy has shifted. "I see no blood," they say, "but I will wash your hair."

For a moment, the mental image of AuDy, their hands buried in Cass's hair, overwhelms them. They take a deep breath through their nose to steady themself. Fuck. "Okay. Yeah. That's… Thanks." Their voice shakes, just a little, and they swear at themself again.

AuDy reaches over Cass to get the bottle of shampoo.

Their fingers dig into Cass's hair and work the shampoo into a healthy lather. It's a sensation so familiar and yet so alien. Fingertips drag across Cass's scalp, work the shampoo through the entire length of Cass's hair, go back to massaging their scalp. If it were anyone other than AuDy, they could find it relaxing. Or rather, could let themself relax.

But if it were anyone but AuDy, Cass wouldn't have let them do this. Wouldn't have let them get this close or share this bit of intimacy.

They close their eyes and try to pretend this doesn't mean anything to them.

Failing that, they switch to pretending it has meaning to AuDy.

AuDy finishes washing Cass's hair somehow both too soon and not soon enough. After AuDy applies conditioner, Cass uses their favorite soap to wash away the gross feeling of not having bathed in three days.

Sufficiently scrubbed clean, they pull the plug on the tub and stand up to rinse themself off using the detachable shower head. AuDy goes to dry themself and leaves a two large, fluffy towels for Cass to use once they're done.

Cass tucks their hair up in one towel to dry and wraps the other around themself once they've toweled off the worst of the moisture. AuDy has taken up a post by the vanity.

"So," Cass begins, feeling awkward, "since you're here… do you know where my hair jewelry went?"

AuDy nods points to a small bag on the vanity that Cass hadn't noticed before. "It is here."

Cass opens the bag and dumps the jewelry out into their hand. They arrange it on the vanity, taking their time to make sure each hairpin is straight and parallel to its neighbors and ending the line with the sapling pin like a period. Stalling.

"We should change your bandages now," AuDy says, opening the package with the supplies to care for Cass's wounds and similarly arranging the items on the vanity.

Cass sighs. "Yeah, okay." They drape their towel over the sink.

"Please lift your arms," AuDy says, and Cass complies. Their fingers ghost over Cass's ribs and then peel the bandages away from Cass's skin. They're fresh, so there's very little to see on the gauze, but they fold them carefully so the gauze is on the inside.

"Fuck," Cass hisses and rubs at the malfunctioning wrist as if that will somehow get it to work again. At least the distraction keeps them from flinching away from AuDy's ministrations.

"We will find someone to perform maintenance," AuDy says as they finish applying ointment to Cass's injury. They cover it with a replacement bandage and seal it with the special tape the hospital sent home with them. "Do not rub at it. That will make it worse."

The concept of leaving the apartment to seek assistance for their malfunctioning synthware rankles. In a fit of petulance, Cass says, "I'm not going anywhere until I've braided my hair."

"You are not going anywhere now," AuDy says. "But I will braid it for you."

The response startles Cass into stillness. The beads, pins, and washer arrayed on the counter look, in this light, like an accusation. Their tongue feels like lead in their mouth as they barely manage to choke out, "You will?"

"Yes. I will do it now."

Cass swallows, feeling as caught as a fish in a net. Their options are few: refuse and try to make a simple plait one-handed; refuse and go with their hair loose; or accept and face whatever consequences will come to bear. None of the options have any appeal, but… Their eyes drift back to their jewelry.

They take too long to respond and suddenly find AuDy's hands in their hair. Cass's heart stops.

AuDy's fingers work methodically, sectioning Cass's hair into strands of varying sizes for the individual braids, then dividing those so they can actually braid them. Their work is careful, measured, and they have the first set of braids done within a few minutes. That works out well because Cass finds they can't breathe.

Without prompting, AuDy begins to wind the individual plaits together into the braid Cass has been wearing when they'd left the day they'd been shot—the dating plait. Fuck. Their heart speeds up; there's no way AuDy fails to notice, not with the way their fingers keep grazing Cass's neck. Cass holds their breath, waits for AuDy to mention their increased heart rate, their erratic respiration.

But AuDy completes the plait in silence and lets it fall against Cass's back. "I do not understand the particulars of your jewelry and I believe it is not a monumental task to perform one-handed," they say.

Cass swallows. "Yeah. Thanks."

"You're welcome." Then AuDy leaves them alone with their jewelry and the washer (though couldn't it be said that it had become jewelry now, too?) and their thoughts.

*

Cass waits until AuDy has settled behind them with their hand pressed to Cass's sternum to monitor their vitals. For all that's happened, they feel weirdly calm. Disconnected. A distant part of them recalls the word "dissociation," but the rest of them ignores it. Instead, they kick the covers off, shivering as the cool night air hits the skin of their abdomen where their shirt has ridden up.

AuDy makes a vague interrogative, which Cass also ignores. They shift themself under AuDy's arm until they're facing them and AuDy's hand rests on Cass's spine. It feels almost illicit to be lying in bed like this, but… Cass slings their arm across the barrel shape of AuDy's chest, makes a sound that might be a sigh, tries to let the weight of AuDy ground them.

"This is not optimal for monitoring your vitals," AuDy whispers. Their voice sounds foreign in the quiet.

The best response Cass can muster is a broken, "Please," as they bury their face in what would be AuDy's collarbone if they had human anatomy.

Things are quiet, and Cass's single syllable hangs in the air. AuDy remains still as if they are considering Cass's request, and Cass wonders if this is it, if this is what will tear a rift between them. Ruin this fragile equilibrium they've fallen into.

But AuDy's fingers find the hem of Cass's shirt, push it up so their hand rests cool on the bare skin low on Cass's ribcage, tug Cass just a tiny bit closer.

Cass lets out the breath they've been holding. Their eyes drift shut. They try to remember that they're safe. That AuDy is with them. For the most part, they succeed. There isn't a heartbeat to listen to, no heat to speak of that Cass doesn't put there; there are no outward signs that AuDy is alive. But they inch a little closer and take comfort in AuDy's solidity.

Almost as if in response to the stray thoughts, AuDy taps their first two fingers against Cass's spine. The sensation is so light that Cass almost thinks they imagined it, but AuDy does it again, then again. Tapping a soft rhythm, a consistent reminder of their continued presence both mentally as well as physically.

Cass relaxes into it. Sighs again. Their brain isn't completely satisfied, but it's enough. They drift off, sleep finally claiming them.

*

The gala opening took place in one of the more posh parts of Centralia, but not the most moneyed. The four of them arrived separately to make less of a splash: Cass and AuDy arrived in a rented vehicle, driven by AuDy; Aria and Mako arrived by limo. Both groups were greeted by the flashes of paparazzi camera drones. There'd be no escaping the gossip columns in the morning. Cass consoled themself by trying to think of the worst punny headlines they could.

At least by arriving with AuDy in tow, they'd avoid being the subject of relationship speculation. Mako and Aria got to deal with that.

AuDy fidgeted with their vest, a freshly tailored thing made out of the same indigo fabric as Cass's pant-suit, with a high collar and darts engineered to hide their Kevlar vest beneath it. Cass thanked Apotine for small favors; the client (a man named Carter Tempest) had been willing to pay for their formal wear, had even said they could keep it.

Cass hoped this would encourage Aria not to get shot at.

The building was an event hall that had been rented out for the night by an art dealer turned drug smuggler, if Tempest was to be believed. Though it didn't matter either way. Whether or not the mark dealt drugs on the side didn't change the fact that they had been hired to be at the gala and visibly making a scene.

Thank fuck it wasn't their job to extract the item Tempest wanted stolen (or stolen _back,_ if he was again to be believed). Cass hated running extractions, and they hated running extractions in fancy clothing even more.

Next to them, AuDy stopped fidgeting with their vest and swatted at one of the paparazzi drones. It flitted just out of their reach with an angry buzz and Cass turned to show it their perfectly manicured middle finger. "Serves you right for trying to do a fly-by on my bodyguard. Fuck off." They sighed and offered AuDy their arm. "Come on, the longer we're out here, the more of those there are going to be."

After a moment of silence, AuDy loops their arm through Cass's. "I will follow your lead as your bodyguard and dance partner," they say, which… oddly specific, but Cass shrugs it off.

"Well, let's get this over with."

They led AuDy through the high arched door and into the event space. The space was lit by a handful of massive chandeliers floating near the ceiling using some elaborate system of magnets and miniature propulsion units like the ones on a flyboard. The event planner had decided that one string quartet wasn't enough, because Cass spotted five of them, all playing slightly out of sync with one another. The fact that they were playing the same music only made the discordant sound more jarring.

Cass stood on their tiptoes and scanned the crowd for any sign of someone who looked suspicious. And the hors d'oeuvres table. Someone willing to spend this much money surely had sprung for a decent spread, or what would be the fucking point?

Mako, evidently, had already found it based on the fact that Cass could see his shock of yellow hair next to something that looked like a tower of cocktail shrimp.

They switched from holding AuDy's arm to gripping their hand. "Come on. Let's go make a scene." And they made a beeline for the table.


	10. Care and Maintenance

"We have an appointment with a service center. We will have your arm fixed today. However, we must generate readouts on the status of all your synthetic parts," AuDy says. "It is part of the warranty claim process."

The pair of them sit in the edge of the bed, turned toward each other. Cass glances down at their hands, then back up at AuDy. "So… what do we have to do? The lab didn't send  _ me _ any instructions for this."

AuDy makes a thoughtful sort of sound. "I received the instructions because I am initiating the claim. Don't worry. It is a simple process to verify the integrity of the synthware."

Cass arches an eyebrow at that comment, but doesn't pursue the line of thought. The implication that AuDy owns their limbs and not them is more than Cass cares to examine. "Okay. Just tell me what to do."

"Give me your arm." No other instruction seems forthcoming, so Cass shoves their sleeve up to their elbow on their malfunctioning arm (well above the delineation between their flesh and the synthskin) and presents it to AuDy.

For a moment, it seems like AuDy isn't going to do anything. They stare at Cass's arm impassively, but then they cradle it in both of their hands; one at the elbow and one at the wrist. 

"What now?"

AuDy says nothing, turns Cass's hand over, presses into the center of Cass's palm with their thumb. Apotine preserve them, it is  _ so hard _ not to shiver at the contact. Cass lets their eyelids slide closed, turns all of their attention to their breathing: in through their nose, out through their mouth. AuDy tugs their arm closer and runs their other thumb up Cass's wrist.

"Please stay still," they say as if they don't have a firm grip on Cass's hand. As if Cass isn't using every ounce of their willpower to hold themself motionless.

"Right." The syllable comes out breathy on their exhale.

Satisfied, AuDy digs their thumb into the synthskin of the prosthetic until Cass feels a catch. Their brain doesn't know how to process the sensation of the diagnostic panel pushing its way to the surface of their forearm. When AuDy lays their hand on it, only their grip on Cass's hand keeps them from flinching away.

"Hold steady." AuDy's dialed down their volume to nearly a whisper. Whatever they're doing with their hand on the diagnostic panel sends a warm tingling through Cass's forearm, almost to the elbow.

AuDy gives their hand a gentle squeeze, and Cass remembers to keep breathing. Fuck.

"This synthware in this limb is operating within normal parameters given its current state," they announce. They drag their hand back down to Cass's wrist and dig their thumb into the same spot as before until the diagnostic panel is hidden once more.

"Thanks," Cass says around the lump in their throat. "So, um. Next one?"

AuDy nods, lets Cass have their arm back.

Cass shoves their sleeve back down and pulls at the cuff and tries not to focus on the way AuDy had squeezed their hand. They offer up their malfunctioning arm for inspection while their heart pounds in their chest.

The sensation is no less alien the second time, their brain scrambling and failing to find sense in what the synthware is reporting. Cass's breath catches in their throat, but AuDy coaxes Cass into quietude until the diagnostic is done 

"As long as we perform proper maintenance, these should not fail in the future." The unspoken  _ like what just happened _ and _ like what happened on September _ hangs in the air between them. AuDy has yet to release Cass's arm.

Cass swallows. "Yeah. That… that would be bad. But, um, I hope we don't get into any more trouble so it won't be an issue. Right?"

AuDy holds Cass's hand between both of their own. Were they a living creature, their palms might have been sweaty, or Cass's skin may have grown too hot. But AuDy's chassis was not meant to be mistaken for organic, so their hands are cool, the only warmth in them coming from Cass themself.

"Your pulse is elevated."

"Sorry, it just feels weird, whatever you've been doing," Cass hedges. They take a deep breath. Try to steady themself. Curl their fingers against AuDy's palm. Their heartbeat doesn't slow, but at least they're remembering to breathe.

"You are safe," AuDy tells them.

Cass huffs out a laugh; they can't help it.  _ If only that was my problem. _ "Yeah, thanks. I know." The words are unsteady.

AuDy lets Cass's hand slide from their hold. Lets their fingers hook with Cass's for just a second before the contact is gone. When Cass sits, frozen, they reach over and tug Cass's sleeve down.

Cass swallows but lets the silence go on.

AuDy tugs their legs up into their lap, forcing Cass to shift so they don't fall over. They prop themself up on their good arm and leave their bad one in their lap. AuDy looks at them with their head cocked to one side.

"It will be easier if you lie down," AuDy tells them.

"I want to see what you're doing, so I know how to do it myself if you're ever not around," Cass says, but the excuse sounds weak to their ears.

"I want you to be near. If I'm not around, that cannot happen." A statement made as if the fact is immutable. They stare at Cass expectantly. 

Cass relents and lies back, using their arms as a makeshift pillow for their head.

*

The service center is an office in a high-rise, on the lower level (presumably because of the heavy equipment that is often necessary for the care and installation of synthetic parts). AuDy leads them once they get out of the cab, taking Cass by their good hand as if they were in danger of being lost without their guidance.

If they didn't have to spend so much willpower keeping their breath even, they would be indignant. As it is, AuDy's palm is smooth, their grip firm but not hard. A contrary part of Cass wanted to resist, but the rest can't help but follow.

They wait in the reception area for less than ten minutes before an older gentleman with a shaved head and tired eyes takes them back to an exam room. "You must be Agapios. Go on and sit in the chair," he says with a raspy voice. "I'm engineer Johan Marks, and I'll be workin' on you today."

Cass does as their told, and AuDy releases their hand to let them go.

"So, tell me what happened," Johan says as he slides a strap over Cass's forearm and tightens it down. Cass tries to flex their hand or curl it into a fist, but it remains unresponsive.

"I got injured and fell on it," Cass says with as little emotion as they can. The memories of what happened are too fresh.

Johan picked up two sharp-looking implements and something that looked for all the world like a tongue depressor. "Yeah, that ain't right," he mutters. "Should be more shock resistant than that. Got the readouts before you came, and I think I know the issue. Hold still."

His bedside manner is shit as he works, but Cass doesn't flinch. The feeling of him working on Cass's arm, quietly probing below the skin and shifting internal workings around is nothing like the feeling of AuDy gently coaxing diagnostic data from the limbs. By the end of it, their elbow is sore and they're tense from having to hold still for so long. But they can clench the squishy ball that Johan gives them in their fist, so they consider it a win.

"There," Johan says when he unstraps Cass's arm. "You oughta have motion in three days, but it might take up to two weeks to get feelin' back while it recalibrates. Check it every night 'til then to make sure the levels are even and you'll be good to go. Anythin' happens? Call us."

"Thanks." Cass flexes their elbow gratefully. "No offense, but I hope I never have to see you again." Not the least of which because of the awful ache in their elbow and shoulder.

"None taken. Don't like gettin' requests like this one anyway. You go enjoy the rest of your day now." That said, Johan scoots his chair to a desk in the corner and starts tapping away at what Cass can only assume is his portion of a warranty service claim. He doesn't turn back around when Cass and AuDy leave.

Cass spends the entire taxi ride back to their apartment rubbing at their wrist until AuDy reaches out and takes Cass's newly repaired arm. "Improper treatment will not restore sensation more quickly," they say with an edge of annoyance to their voice.

"It tingles," Cass grumbles, not worrying about hiding the petulance. They're injured and tired. Surely they're allowed to be cranky about this.

AuDy places Cass's hand flat between both of their own and squeezes it between them: first applying gentle pressure, then steadily increasing. The tingling subsides until all Class can feel is AuDy. It's so much a relief that they sigh in something almost like bliss. "Please keep doing that," they say. 

AuDy says nothing but continues for the rest of the trip home. 

*

Three days later, the tingling has largely subsided, but Cass's hand still doesn't quite work correctly. They spend most of their time squeezing a stress ball when both of their hands aren't required, which, in their ensuing boredom, is often. Still, they manage a few things: they cook a few simple meals, replenish the pantry, resume their normal gill and scale care routine, and tidy the apartment.

Their bedroom has suffered the most while they've been recovering. While AuDy has been keeping their laundry clean, the rest of the bedroom has become a cluttered mess of empty takeout containers and things Cass has been using to keep themself entertained. It puts Cass in mind of Mako's room on the  _ Kingdom Come,  _ and that… They try to weather the wave of complicated emotions—sadness at the ship's destruction, nostalgia for their old living arrangements, a stab of homesickness and regret—and largely succeed.

Still, they find themself with their hands on the box that AuDy had had stolen on their behalf. They open the lid and pick up the remains of the  _ Kingdom Come.  _

_ This belongs to AuDy,  _ they realize. Their fingers are weak as they curl around the washers, but the grip is enough not to drop them as Cass goes in search of AuDy. 

They find them in the living room, going behind Cass and straightening the apartment in a way that must be more pleasing to then. When Cass enters their field of view, they stop. "What is wrong?"

The bits of the ship—the last bits of  _ AuDy's  _ ship—take on a weight beyond physical mass. Become hard to hold onto. Cass clears their throat. "I've, uh. I've got something for you," they say and hold out their hand. It trembles, just a little. 

AuDy reaches up and cups their hand just below Cass's. Their fingertips barely brush Cass's wrist. Cass opens their first and the weight falls into AuDy's waiting palm.

"What is this?" Their tone is clearly perplexed. 

"When you… when you got that thing back for me, it had some stuff in it. And, well… Do you remember that time you asked for my help with something and you just had me stand there?" They pause, and AuDy nods. "Then you gave me a bunch of the stuff you pulled out of the access panel? Well, here it is. It's all yours. Because the  _ Kingdom Come  _ was yours. These… don't belong to me." 

AuDy holds the washers, nuts, and bolt in one hand; staring at them as if they were somehow answerable for… something, then sits down where they stand with a quiet  _ thump. _ They haven't gone into power-save mode, which is something, but there's no way to interpret the action as anything other than intense distress.

Cass kneels next to them and rests a hand on their shoulder. Apole, how they wish there were something they could say. Something they could do. How does someone even comfort someone when their consciousness is so fundamentally different from themself?

AuDy had done it by sitting next to Cass in silence. Cass supposes that's their best course of action.

Eventually, AuDy's fingers curl into a fist and they let it fall to their side. "This was my home," they say.

Cass swallows. "Yeah, me too."

"I think…" AuDy trails off and goes silent for a moment. "I think that I was a pilot because, on some level, I knew I must broaden my horizons. Even though I could not remember being Liberty and Discovery."

Cass chuckles, bitterness creeping into their voice. "You know, it's funny. I always hated Divines, but I never once thought to hate you. You were always—" And they stop. What  _ had _ AuDy always been? Dear to them? Family? One of the people who made the  _ Kingdom Come _ more than just a ship? Someone who represented the concept of  _ home? _ All of these and none of them feel accurate, so they hedge: "You were always a friend. And… and you helped make the  _ Kingdom Come _ my home. So I guess I should be grateful that you still wanted to do that." 

AuDy nods slowly. "I miss it." 

"Me too." 

And there is nothing left to say.

What AuDy does with the washers, bolts, and nut, Cass can't say. If it still bothers them, AuDy never mentions it again. 

*

For once in the Chime's careers, the job went off without a hitch. Of course, the job was to make a scene, and Eidolons knew they were experienced at  _ that. _ Aria and Cass danced, with other guests, with Mako and AuDy, and with each other, before Mako—who had had too much to drink—and Cass—who had had either too much or not enough for this shit—knocked over one of the hors d'oeuvre tables, nearly injured two string quartets, and brought down a chandelier.

Cackling the whole way, Aria led them all as they fled the scene.

She dragged Mako by one hand as he wobbled drunkenly behind her; Cass followed with one arm slung over AuDy's shoulders to keep upright.

The last glass of champagne may have been ill-advised, but Cass can't find it in themself to regret it. They feel warm and light and cheerful in a way they haven't in a while, and all signs point to them making a clean getaway. No one shot at them! Only Mako had ruined his formalwear! They couldn't contain the pleased laughter that bubbled up in their chest.

"Yeah, that was all pretty hilarious," Mako says, slurring a little. "See, even Cass thinks so!"

"We made a scene as the job required with minimal injury," AuDy said.

"Stop being such a buzzkill, AuDy," Mako responded, turning around briefly to point his finger in AuDy's direction.

Cass made an expansive hand gesture as if to wave away Mako's accusatory pointing. "Hey, th' last time we had a job, they had to haul you home covered in blood. Let 'em have this moment."

"I am allowed to be grateful for small victories," AuDy added. "Aria, are you impaired?"

"I just had one glass when we got there," she said, but she still sounded cheerful. "I got this. You get to wrangle the kids this time. Just make sure neither of them barf in the back. Should be fun." She dropped Mako's hand in favor of fishing around in her purse for the keys to their getaway vehicle: a sleek sedan provided by their employer.

"I am not the doctor," AuDy protested. "The doctor is currently inebriated."

"No shit," Mako agreed. "Don't think I've ever seen Cass this wasted."

"Shut up," Cass grumped as AuDy guided them to the passenger side door of the vehicle and waited for Aria to unlock it.

"Make me."

Cass reached out, almost overbalancing themself, and clapped their free hand over Mako's mouth. For their trouble, they were rewarded with Mako licking their palm until Cass made a disgusted sound and wiped the spit off on Mako's already damp jacket. "Gross."

"Do not make me separate you," AuDy said. Mako pulled a face half-way between petulant and defiant, and AuDy made a sound that might have been a sigh if it weren't for the fact that they didn't need to breathe.

Once the door was open, AuDy herded Mako into the vehicle, nudged him into the seat on the far side, then followed him. They settled in the middle seat and tugged Cass into the seat on the opposite side. "If you were gonna do it anyway, why make it sound like you weren't gonna separate us?" Mako sniffed. "I feel betrayed, AuDy.  _ Betrayed. _ I'm not your friend anymore."

"Yes you are," AuDy refuted, and that was the end of that. They buckled Cass and Mako in then turned to Aria. "We are secured."

They arrived back at the  _ Kingdom Come _ in a timely fashion without any incident. Aria would take the sedan back to their employer later, but for the night it would stay parked in one of the ship's cargo bays. That made it relatively easy for Mako to stumble back to his room, but Cass found the ship entirely too wobbly to do much more than stand.

AuDy considered them for a moment. "You will want to hold on," they said, then placed one arm behind Cass's back and bent to scoop them up in a bridal-style carry.

Cass yelped, but despite their slow reaction time, they managed to grab hold of AuDy before they slid out of their grasp. "What—?"

"You appeared reluctant to return to your quarters. I am carrying you." As if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Which… Well, Cass couldn't argue that, but it hardly explained the rationale.

By the time Cass thought to ask a different question, however, AuDy had already deposited them on their bed and shut the door behind them.


	11. Nobody's Home

Cass recovers at a decent rate. They know they aren't recovering as quickly as they could, but it's not such a slow process as to be worrisome. They chalk it up to the fact that their new, custom-grown body hadn't been quite as done as the doctors had hoped before AuDy had dropped their consciousness into it.

Still, they _do_ heal. AuDy insists—as the one currently occupying a medibot chassis—on being the one to change Cass's bandages. They ignore Cass's protests, "AuDy, I'm the one that went through medical training," but AuDy shakes their head and bats Cass's hands away from their side.

"Your dexterity may still be compromised and this chassis is made for medical care," they say. "Hold still."

Their fingers are gentle ( _When has AuDy ever been gentle before?_ Cass wonders) as they peel away the adhesive covering meant to protect the bandages and remove the gauze beneath. Cass can see the wounds in the mirror as AuDy works: angry red knots of skin that ooze from the process of healing. It's all going to scar, and badly. The emergency responders had little idea how best to treat Apostolosian physiology.

But Cass is alive, so they can't complain about them.

The wounds must be cleaned with an antiseptic solution, which AuDy applies and blots away with focused care. Then they apply the ointment meant to speed along the healing process—though Cass wonders if it's doing its job, or if they'd just heal that much more slowly without it—and it's almost icy on Cass's skin.

They apply a new bandage, then seal it with a new protective covering. Their hand lingers, palm resting over the wound for a few moments before they withdraw.

Every twelve hours, they do this until the wounds are closed two weeks later. The scarring is as bad as Cass suspected, but they find it difficult to mind. Their previous body had accrued quite a number of blemishes and flaws; the fact that their current body had none until now was a little disconcerting.

In some ways, it feels nice. A bit like finally moving in.

They touch the scar in front of the mirror the next time they bathe and they remember the care AuDy had taken with making sure it healed.

*

Galatea makes a face at them the first time they feel up for getting coffee again after the incident. " _You look terrible, Gapi. What has that AuDy been doing to you? You poor thing. You look like you haven't eaten a good meal in weeks._ "

" _Hey, AuDy's been taking care of me,_ " Cass says over their usual order.

" _They're a medical robot and you got_ shot," Galatea replies, waspish. " _If they did not, I'd tell you to return them to their manufacturer._ "

" _I… think they're a little past their warranty date, Gala._ " _Eighty thousand years past it,_ they think.

" _Hmph. Well, tell them you need more home-cooked meals. No, don't argue. You can tell them I said so._ "

This draws a weak chuckle from Cass. " _Okay, okay. I'll tell them you said so, not that it will do any good. I don't think they even know_ how _to cook._ " Let alone having any interest in learning. Though, they hadn't thought AuDy could read or write Apostolosian, either. Cass shrugs. " _Who knows. Maybe I'm wrong._ "

Galatea takes a sip of their coffee and grins. " _Let's hope for their sake that you are! I would hate to have to give your friend a stern talking to, but don't think I won't do it! Oh, don't make that face, Gapi. I only say these things out of concern for you._ "

" _You don't have to worry where AuDy's concerned,_ " Cass says. " _Believe me, they've had my back for a while now. I can only think of one or two people I trust like I trust them._ "

" _Hmm. If you say so,_ " Galatea says, though they sound unconvinced. " _Well, whether they are trustworthy or not doesn't change the fact that you need someone to cook for you, and I can only invite you over so often before you're obligated to accept Xenia's hand in marriage._ " They wink at Cass.

Cass splutters. " _Tine's already married! And I have—I have my own situation that marrying your child_ will not help." They try to cram as much finality into the last three words as they can, but they guess from the look of sheer delight on Galatea's face that they aren't deterred for an instant. Cass groans and hides behind their hands.

" _Then I suppose your robot friend had best learn how to make—what was it? Ah, yes! Squid ink pasta!_ " they cackle.

*

They aren't quite sure why they do it ( _it's silly,_ they think), but one morning a some time later, as they disengage from AuDy's vigilant grip, Cass turns to face them. "How do you feel about cooking?" they ask before they can lose their nerve.

"I have no feelings on the subject."

Cass tries not to roll their eyes. Helpful. "I meant, would you want to learn?"

AuDy considers, tilting their head to one side. "You should have said that. I have no objection to learning new skills."

"Good, because we're going grocery shopping and then I'm going to teach you how to make grilled trench-flounder." Cass shucks off their nightclothes and pulls on a longer casual tunic, which they intend to belt like a dress… as soon as they can locate their belt.

"I have found 48,973 recipes for this dish," AuDy informs them. "There are multiple local and familial variants."

"And I'm willing to bet that 48,972 of them are dead wrong," Cass retorts. "You're not getting out of cooking lessons with me _that_ easily." They find their belt and cinch it around their waist, then put their seedling pin over their heart. "Now come on, I want to get down to the store before all the freshest produce is gone."

The produce is not too picked-over when Cass and AuDy arrive at the store, but Cass makes grumbling noises about it anyway. It was part of their experience when they'd asked one of the palace chefs to teach them. It's only fair that AuDy be treated to the same.

They bring the haul home: a selection of tubers and other vegetables, a few less-frequently used spices that Cass didn't typically stock, and a large flank off a local sea-creature that the several cooking sites indicate is close to trench-flounder (in taste, texture, and cooking time). With the groceries appropriately stashed, Cass sets AuDy to performing a deep clean of the kitchen (another reflection of Cass's own education in the matter).

"I do not see what this has to do with learning to cook."

From their perch on one of the tall chairs arranged around the kitchen island, Cass shrugs. "It builds character."

"I have 80,000 years of character," AuDy says. Cass has grown adept at recognizing petulance in their tone, and they have to bite the inside of their cheek to keep from smiling when they hear it now.

"Once you're done, we can start prep," Cass says. "I'll be nice and help out since I'm hungry and I want to know what the hell this thing tastes like. And we're doing it _my_ way, so don't get all uppity about doing it however some stupid recipe on the mesh tells you to do it."

There's a part of Cass that almost feels guilty laying out all the ingredients on the freshly-cleaned countertops when the time comes, but they wave the feeling away. "First, we have to make the rub. The proportions aren't that important—don't look at me like that—the key thing is that it has to smell good." They pause. "You've… got olfactory sensors, right?"

"Yes. But I will have to defer to your judgement on what constitutes 'good.'"

"Oh. Yeah. That makes sense. Okay, come over here and watch what I do." They step aside so AuDy has a place next to them at the counter, and they explain each spice they add to the small bowl in front of them. "This one adds a little sourness to bring out the natural flavor of the fish," or "this keeps it from being bland," or "add too much of this and you've ruined the whole batch," or "you can't cook anything without this, so don't even try."

"I do not understand most of what you explained, but I have memorized the ingredients and ratios," AuDy says. "I could reproduce this rub as needed."

Cass sets the rub next to the fish flank. "Eh. Close enough. Okay, time to peel." They pass AuDy a vegetable peeler and shove half of them in their direction. Unlike the first time Cass had been made to do it, AuDy does not complain.

Taking the freshly skinned vegetables from AuDy's side of the counter and putting them back with their companions, Cass tells AuDy, "Okay. You do the fish and I'll chop the veggies." And they set to work.

With their concentration fully on chopping (their hands might be synthetic, but they're still a little leery and cutting a finger would still hurt), they don't notice when AuDy shifts to stand behind them. They don't realize it until AuDy reaches forward to take Cass's knife hand in their own. Cass freezes, heartbeat accelerating beneath AuDy's touch. "Your technique for chopping is poor," AuDy says.

"My technique is just fine." Cass's words are uneven and irritable. They latch onto the irritation like a lifeline. "I took some culinary training and I've been cooking for most of my life. I think that's proof enough that my technique works."

"Based on my research, you could be 32% more efficient. I will demonstrate."

Their hand moves, changing the angle of Cass's wrist and arranging their fingers in a different placement in the handle. Cass hopes fervently that AuDy doesn't notice the change in their heart rate or the way their breath catches.

But if they do notice, they don't call it out. Instead their other hand cups the back of the hand holding the tuber Cass was chopping and moves it forward. "You must work like this." And they demonstrate, using Cass's hands like props.

At first, Cass considers resisting, but even their indignation at having their cooking skills called into question doesn't outweigh the frisson that they feel with AuDy a solid presence at their back and AuDy's hands on their own. They let their limbs follow AuDy's guidance.

"This increases your potential throughput when chopping vegetables," AuDy informs them. Their hands fall away and they take a step back.

With great effort, Cass doesn't make a sound to indicate they feel the lack of contact keenly. Rather, they focus all their attention on their work. "Whatever. You need to skin and debone the flank. Stop worrying about what I'm doing."

AuDy does not respond but returns to their work. The rest of the prep passes in silence as Cass tries to get ahold of their racing pulse.

When they are done chopping the vegetables (annoyingly, AuDy was correct; the new technique made the work go faster), AuDy has finished their task with the fish. They've even set up the grill adapter for the stove top, though they haven't turned it on.

"Alright," Cass says as they bring the veggies over. "The next step is simple enough. We just have to season flank with the rub we made earlier, then put it in the foil packet with a the vegetables."

AuDy nods, their hands already working based on Cass's instructions. It's difficult for Cass not to stare—something they hope is interpreted as a critical eye. But there's nothing to critique; all Cass can do is watch their hands. Imagine what it might be like to have AuDy's hands on their own again.

Fuck. They turn away and start cleaning the cutting board and knife.

*

The meal is good, both technically well-prepared and tasty. Close enough to what Cass is used to that they felt a sort of satisfaction that they hadn't felt since… well, before September. When Aria had made her favorite dish and shared it with Mako and themself. Galatea is right. They need more home-cooked meals prepared by a loved one.

After dinner is put away and the dishes washed, Cass goes about their evening routine: gill care, scale care, bathing. They perform their devotional to Apole in silence, then stand and take their hair out of their towel. It's longer now than they normally keep it, but… they run their fingers through it. Maybe they could use the change. Maybe it would be good to distance themself from their previous life by growing it out like this. Maybe—

AuDy startles them. "Since you have not done it yet, I would like to braid your hair."

Cass's heart stops and their throat goes dry. Memories of how it felt to have AuDy's fingers scrape against their scalp flood Cass's mind, and all they can manage is a shaky, "Uh."

"I would like to braid your hair," AuDy repeats, more slowly this time. As if Cass hadn't heard them the first time.

Two impulses war with each other in Cass's brain:

"Um. I think that maybe you have the wrong idea," Cass finally says. "I mean, I appreciate that you were helping me when I couldn't do it myself, but… AuDy, that's the kind of thing lovers do for each other."

AuDy goes still. "Then you do not want me to do this."

Cass winces. "We aren't lovers, AuDy." _No matter how badly I want to be._

"I see." Their words are chilly and distant.

"It's just… there's a line there," Cass continues. Their heart pounds in their ears. Apole help them. "I know you're not Apostolosian. You couldn't know. But that's—that's not something you do for someone who's just your friend. Even someone very close." And that's what they are, right? It's so hard to tell, feeling this way. Wishing.

AuDy doesn't respond. Instead, they turn on their heel and march stiffly to a corner of the living room.

Cass follows them. "AuDy?" But AuDy doesn't seem to be listening. Rather than say anything, they sit in the corner, folding themself up into a compact lump. Cass repeats, "AuDy? What are you—"

All the lights on AuDy's chassis go dark.

AuDy has gone, leaving Cass alone once more.

*

The cockpit never stopped being AuDy's space, even when AuDy themself had stopped being in it. When Orth wasn't in the copilot's chair, it sat empty for the most part.

Except for moments like this one, when Cass chose to occupy it.

They kept their eyes locked on the dark of space outside the window; no matter how often they were off-world, it always startled to see the stars' light hold steady outside of the atmosphere. Here, the only lights that twinkled were the ones on the control panels. The ones on AuDy's chest had winked out.

"I hope you're still in there," they said for what must have been the fourth or fifth or millionth time. It was the only thing they said when they sat in this seat, really.

They thought other things, _You're not allowed to leave us like this,_ or _Do you really want to give this ship back to Orth?_ But really, what it all boiled down to was a simple fact: AuDy had once told Cass that they wanted them to be safe, to be near, and to know that they were there. And AuDy didn't have the fucking decency to return the favor.


	12. Square Zero

The instant they walk into the Constellation Coffee for their usual date, Galatea knows. " _Child, come sit,_ " they say, waving Cass over. As soon as Cass is in the chair opposite them, Galatea orders Cass's usual and brings it back to their table. " _Tell me everything._ "

Cass considers for a moment before saying, " _I fucked up._ " It may not be detailed, but it's the truth.

" _There's bound to be more than that. I understand if you don't want to talk, but you look so miserable, Agapios. Share some of that burden with an old fish, I beg you. This is my bribe._ " Galatea sets the coffee down in front of Cass.

" _I… My… It's complicated. I made some assumptions and it all came back to bite me in the ass._ "

" _With your Diasporan beau._ " A statement, not a question.

" _Yeah. Well. They're not… not my beau._ " Cass stares at their hands, folded around their untouched coffee. " _I fucked up, Gala. The way things were… I went and assumed and made an ass of myself and I'll be lucky if I still have my friend at the end of this._ "

Galatea's expression is soft, sad. " _It's difficult to weather storms when you've misread the clouds._ "

Cass's bark of laughter sounds bitter, even to their own ears. " _Yeah, no shit. Apole, how could I have been so stupid? The entire time I've known them, they've never shown any interest in anyone like that, except maybe once. But they were worried about me and trying to keep me from doing stupid things and I had to go fall in—it doesn't matter._ "

" _Oh, Agapios,_ " Galatea says, reaching out and touching the back of Cass's hand with their fingertips in reassurance." _It's clear to me that your friend—your lover, whatever they may be—must care about you deeply. Whatever form that might take. I can't imagine that if they've done as much for you as you say that they would consider your friendship ruined by such a misunderstanding._ "

" _I appreciate the vote of confidence, Gala, but… You don't know them like I do. They're… They're prickly at the best of times._ " Which was putting it mildly, all things considered.

Galatea sighs. " _Gapi. You are no fool. I can't believe you would be so much of an idiot as to stay friends with someone who would do such a thing._ "

" _It's… It's not like that, Gala,_ " Cass protests. They try to find a way to wrap words around the complicated nature of what they have— _had_ —with AuDy, but all they can manage is a vague hand gesture and, " _I'd trust them with my life, but that's not the same as… I shouldn't have said anything._ "

" _Oh, Gapi… Sometimes the heart will just want what it will want._ "

" _That doesn't mean I didn't fuck up and chase away my best friend,_ " Cass says.

Galatea doesn't respond with words. Rather, they touch the back of Cass's hand again while Cass stares at their own coffee.

Eventually, they look up, and Galatea offers a thin smile. " _Would you like a place to stay? Xenni's out of town again, so we could put you up in tinem room. It would be lovely to have you._ "

Cass shakes their head. " _No, it's—I appreciate the offer, but that feels too much like running away. And what if AuDy comes back? I don't… I don't want them to come back to an empty apartment and maybe think that I don't give a shit._ "

" _That's fair,_ " Galatea says. They pat Cass's hand. " _If that changes, just let me know. I'll make sure the room's all made up._ "

Cass doubts it will change, but they say nothing to the contrary.

*

They stare at their tablet, carefully ignoring the shape of the lifeless medibot chassis in the corner of the room. The tablet screen has long since gone dim; now, all Cass can stare at is their own reflection.

They could call Aria. Tell her what's happened. Explain everything. Apologize. Take whatever rebuke she has to give (because she'd be right). Except they can't. They'd frozen when they'd thought they were just stranded on Kalliope with no resources save a shitty fake identity. On some level, they'd known: they'd hurt her, and they couldn't face that.

Calling Mako isn't even a choice. The number they have is dead. Wherever Mako is, he's off the grid and unreachable. Just like any good super-spy should be, Cass supposes. Of course, whether Mako is a good super-spy is probably up for debate, but he's at least got his "disappearing from the grid" act fairly well covered.

It doesn't matter, though. The idea of trying to explain themself—their situation, why it's taken so long, why they didn't reach out before they… It somehow seems worse than trying to reach out to Aria.

Eidolons below, where did things go so wrong? They'd been a family, once. Perhaps not the most functional, but still a family. Cass would have laid their life on the line for any of them. _Had_ done so. _Probably still would._

But then September had happened, hadn't it? Then they'd all assumed AuDy was dead, and they'd gone their separate ways. As if somehow AuDy was the glue that held their family together. Or maybe it's more accurate to say that Rigour was the force strong enough to pull them apart.

They let their head fall back and toss the tablet onto the nightstand at their bedside.

The apartment is so _small_ in AuDy's absence. It's counterintuitive: with half of its occupants gone, it should feel larger in addition to being lonely. But without AuDy there, without their company, it's easy for Cass to be aware of every wall as they rattle around.

In the days following coffee with Galatea, Cass's world shrinks, too. They eat, but do not cook; once the leftovers are gone, takeout containers replace them. They sleep, but it is fitful. They take the washer from their hair and put it back in the box it had come from. They let their braid go messy, don't bother to take it down or brush it or put it back into a simpler plait.

None of the mesh-connected devices in the apartment show any notifications, so Cass doesn't bother picking them up.

They try turning on a vidscreen exactly once: it shows a clip from a news story about Executive Joie-Green.

Cass turns it off and falls asleep on the sofa.

They wake up in the dark with no desire to be alone.

It's so difficult to be back at square one. Worse than square one, because at least when they first got here, they could be reasonably assured that AuDy was _listening._ Now, though, Cass has no way to tell. All they have is hope.

They don't bother aiming their words at the inert caregiver 'bot. It has a mesh connection, sure, but it's clearly uninhabited. Instead, Cass makes their way back to the bedroom and picks up the tablet that had been their first real contact after they'd arrived. They check the connection, launch the messaging app, and prop it upright on their pillow.

They take a deep breath. Clench their hands into fists on their knees. Pick their words as carefully as they can. "I don't know if you can hear me, AuDy, but I hope so. I'm not—I just want you to know a few things. About this whole thing, I mean.

"I'm not upset. Or, well, I _am,_ but it's not what you think. It's just… fuck, AuDy, what am I supposed to think? I don't mind it if you do the things you've been doing, but I don't know if—" They sigh and resist the urge to scrub at their face. "If things keep going the way they've been going, I think… I don't know if you have any feelings about this. But it's hard for me not to feel like there's more to it than just you wanting to make sure I take care of myself.

"I don't want you to stop being around. I _like_ knowing you're here. That's something that's always been a thing. But if all this is is just you making sure I'm taking care of myself, then we've got to revisit your methodologies here because you're sort of sending the wrong message."

They pause. Their hands shake. The weight of their frayed dating plait rests heavy at their back. It's not the whole truth, but it's enough of the truth for Cass to feel like they've tried. And not so much of the truth that things will get nasty if they've failed.

But the tablet remains silent. Fuck. They've probably just bared a piece of their heart to an empty fucking apartment.

Cass picks up the tablet and places it back on the bedside table. If there's a point in staying awake any longer, Cass can't see it.

*

The sun hasn't risen when they wake up. The apartment rests quiet and still save for the subtle whirr of the climate control unit. Cass struggles for a moment to figure out why they're awake, but then they recognize it. The mattress dips behind them, and a familiar weight rests on their side.

Cass does not roll over, does not try to sit up. All they can manage is a hoarse whisper, "AuDy."

"Yes." Nothing more than that.

The silence stretches between them, and Cass can't help but imagine it like a staring contest. Except AuDy has no eyes and Cass can't bring themself to look at them.

Finally, Cass says, "You came back."

"Yes." AuDy's fingers twitch against their ribs, a glitch of their inhabiting a chassis not designed for them, perhaps.

Cass nods as if the word explains anything. They close their eyes. Try to breathe. "I guess you heard me."

"Yes."

"AuDy, I—"

AuDy cuts them off. "Cass. I have feelings for you."

For a moment, Cass feels weightless; like they're in free-fall or like they've just achieved escape velocity or like they're suspended in the depths of an ocean back home. They lie there, frozen, unmoored, with their heart hammering in their ears. AuDy's fingers curl in Cass's shirt. When Cass feels like they can breathe again, they murmur, "Okay."

"I care about your welfare."

That, at least, has been abundantly clear. Cass nods, not sure that they can manage to get out another syllable.

AuDy pauses as if deep in thought. It takes several moments for them to reach some sort of conclusion. "I want to encourage any affection you have for me."

Cass's mind races even as they feel dizzy. They nod again.

The next pause is so long that, for a moment, Cass believes the conversation to be over. Or maybe "conversation" is too strong a word for the calculated volley of monosyllabic responses and curt sentences. They think, _Oh._ And they think, _I'm dreaming._ And they think, _They don't know what they're saying._

They think that it's over, and AuDy withdraws their hand. Everything is still. There is no way for Cass to see AuDy's face without moving, but they feel the weight of their attention on a level as visceral as feeling their hand leave their side.

"Cass." No inflection colors AuDy's voice.

They swallow and try to remember how to breathe. "Yeah?"

"I want to make sure that you know I have affection for you."

Cass shivers, curls in on themself, wills their lungs to start working again. Where they had felt weightless before, they feel like they're falling now. AuDy touches their shoulder and it's like a lifeline. Cass turns toward them, looking up into their face. It's as unreadable as always, but AuDy's body is bent toward Cass in a way that Cass can interpret just fine.

They breathe for a moment, a wordless prayer to Apole fluttering through their mind before they speak. "I—I care about you. And I want to encourage the affection you have for me. And—" Their words falter. "I want… I want to make sure you know I have feelings for you, too."

Their hand finds AuDy's where it rests on the bed, and they finally— _finally,_ after imagining it for so long—rest their palm over it. The synthskin is cool but yields when they squeeze. AuDy turns their hand over and laces their fingers together; Cass lets out a shivering sigh.

"Alright," AuDy whispers. "You may go back to sleep now."

"Apote," Cass says with a breathy half-chuckle. "You really think you can just say shit like that and then expect me to _go back to sleep?_ "

AuDy makes a non-committal humming sound. "You should be resting. I will stay here and monitor your vitals."

A thought strikes Cass, and they almost start laugh in earnest at the absurdity of it. "This whole time, you've just been using that as an excuse to be next to me."

AuDy doesn't dignify the statement with a response, choosing instead to stretch out at Cass's side. They disentangle their fingers from Cass's and rest their hand on Cass's breastbone in the familiar gesture. Their other hand comes up to Cass's cheek, and they press the pads of their middle and forefinger to the corner of Cass's mouth.

Cass huffs out a laugh. "You can't read my pulse there," they say.

"I am not looking for your pulse," AuDy responds as if it should be obvious. "This chassis has sensors which do not require skin contact for an estimated heart rate. I simply have no mouth and cannot kiss you. This is my compromise." There's a moment where it seems like AuDy might say something more, but the moment passes. Their fingers linger at Cass's lips.

Cass shivers. "How long have you been—been making this compromise?" they ask, but they suspect they know. Cass turns their head and presses their lips to the tips of AuDy's fingers where the synthskin is warmed from contact with their skin. AuDy answers by applying a little more pressure, a gesture that is impossible to misinterpret now.

Cass can't help but smile. They're fairly certain AuDy can't misinterpret that, either.

Eventually, they fall asleep.


	13. A Sort-Of Divine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end of this chapter gets a bit spicy. If that doesn't interest you, stop reading after Galatea leaves and you'll be fine.

The shift is like the tides: slow, monumental, and inevitable. It's impossible for Cass to gauge, caught up in the swell as they are, but Galatea smiles when they enter the Constellation Coffee and claim the seat across from Cass. " _Fair winds, Agapios. You look very well. Has something happened that an old fish like me ought to be aware of?_ "

Cass feels their cheeks heat like they're a fifteen-year-old caught out doing something ridiculous. " _Maybe._ "

Galatea leans close, adjusting their spectacles and tilting their head this way and that in an exaggerated examination of Cass's features. The press of their attention only made Cass flush further. " _Ah, I see where it is. There, in the corner of your eye._ " They point with one finger. " _Your Diasporan. But they never said anything when you changed your hair, did they? Ah, don't look at me like that. I've seen plenty enough to know a lovestruck fool when I see one._ "

They lean back and grin. " _So, tell me what happened?_ "

And Cass does, largely. They talk about working together, about the trust they built through hardship. They talk about being separated, about finding each other, about the tenuous life they built. About AuDy fleeing and then coming back with their confession. By the end of it, Galatea grins from ear-to-ear.

" _Oh, what a tale yours is,_ " they laugh. " _So, when do I get to meet your mate?_ "

" _It's… it's complicated. I'm not sure…_ "

Galatea reaches across the table and lays one hand on Cass's. Their skin is rough with age but their fingers are warm. " _I understand that things are complicated, your Exaltation. I won't push, but I consider you a friend. Maybe family, if you like. I would like to know who is so important to you._ "

Cass nearly chokes on their drink at the use of their former title. " _What?_ " they squeak once they've successfully swallowed the liquid.

Galatea's expression is fond. They squeeze Cass's hand. " _Helia is a naive individual. Ote saw the resemblance on the surface and dismissed it as happenstance. But it got me thinking, and some of the things we talked about, along with your friend's name… I don't know_ how _this is true, but I know you are—were Apokine, Cassander Timaeus Berenice. But don't worry. Your secret is safe._ "

The urge to lie, to deny, runs strong in the forefront of Cass's mind, but they resist. Galatea has done nothing but be supportive and kind. Has done nothing to demonstrate being untrustworthy. Cass sighs and turns their hand up so they can squeeze back. " _It's complicated,_ " they repeat. " _I'll ask if you are welcome for dinner and then we can explain everything._ "

" _I would like that,_ " Galatea says. They keep their voice as low as they can and still be heard over the chatter in the coffee shop. " _So, should I still call you Gapi? Or may I call you differently?_ "

" _Call me Cass._ " It's a relief to say the words. " _My friends call me that. And… you're like family, so you get that ability, too._ "

" _Thank you, Cass._ " Galatea flashes a smile, that Cass can't help but return. " _So, tell me about your Diasporan beau._ "

Cass glances down at where they are holding Galatea's hand. They can feel a little heart rising to their face. _"Well, AuDy isn't just Diasporan. They're… they're a Divine. The Divine Discovery. Sort of._ "

They're fairly certain they will carry the memory of the look on Galatea's face to their grave.

*

Cass gathers the ingredients for squid ink pasta and side salads, and picks up a loaf of fresh bread and a bottle of decent wine. It's been so long since they've cooked for others, and they have the money to spare for fresh ingredients and sides.

Galatea arrives five minutes early, wearing a lovingly embroidered tunic, silver bangles on their wrists, and what might be the most elaborate Apotean updo that Cass has ever seen. It's certainly the most elaborately styled they've ever seen Galatea's hair. For a moment, they stare in stunned silence until Galatea raises their palms in greeting. Cass does the same.

" _Oh, don't be like that, Cass,_ " they tease. " _Surely you knew I can scrub up cleanly. I just only do it for special occasions._ "

Cass steps aside and lets Galatea enter the apartment. " _I didn't realize my cooking was worth all that fuss._ "

Galatea breezes past them with a grin and pats them on the shoulder. " _Getting to be cooked for by the last Apokine while also getting to meet their sort-of Divine partner? Of course I was going to dress appropriately._ "

Cass laughs—they can't help it. The no-nonsense way Galatea phrases it makes the whole situation sound so ridiculous. _As ridiculous as it really is,_ they think. " _So this isn't just you being excited about my pasta? I'm very good at it, you know._ "

" _They have much practice at it,_ " AuDy says from the door to the bedroom. Despite having never expressed any interest in clothing since Cass had woken up, AuDy has donned a smartly tailored vest in a seafoam color that compliments Cass's sundress. When they would have ever acquired such a thing, Cass couldn't say, but they can't deny that it's a better garment than their old bullet-proof vest.

Galatea's eyes light up. " _Oh, you never told me they speak our language!_ " They raise their palms in AuDy's direction. " _Fair winds! I'm Galatea Iona Stephenos. You must be AuDy._ "

" _Yes. I have heard much about you, Galatea._ "

" _Please, call me Gala,_ " they say. " _So, humor an old fish, tell me how someone like yourself came to befriend our Cass here?_ "

" _We were criminals,_ " AuDy says, clearly with no intention to elaborate.

" _I see…_ " Galatea says slowly.

Cass shakes their head. " _What they mean is that we ended up working for the same guy when we were on Counterweight, and just sort of stuck together: AuDy, Mako, Aria, and me. And sometimes, when times were tight, we might've done some things that some would consider illegal._ "

" _Most courts would have considered them illegal,_ " AuDy adds in a mockery of being helpful.

" _Oh, that's right, you used to run around with Aria Joie before she became Executive!_ " Galatea grins. " _You know, I always thought you two were… well, you know. It's funny how wrong an old gossip can be without all the facts, isn't it?_ "

Trying not to regret inviting Galatea into their home, Cass groans.

The dinner is lovely in the end. Galatea and AuDy get along well despite the primary common ground between them being affection for Cass. Or maybe because of it. Galatea also compliments Cass's cooking, gives AuDy a hard time for not having learned to cook sooner, and—despite knowing that Cass and AuDy are together—threatens once again to give Xenia's hand in marriage to Cass.

Cass and Galatea split the bottle of wine between them, and it truly is a good vintage. They're both tipsy by the time AuDy serves dessert.

" _I know it won't happen,_ " Galatea says, slurring their words a little. Tipsy as they are, their regional accent adds barbs to their consonants. " _Xenia doesn't want another spouse, and you've got your—your AuDy. But I would have liked to have you in my family, I think._ "

A flush of pleasure, fondness, and pride rises to Cass's cheeks, which they try to hide behind their nearly-empty glass of wine. " _Oh, Gala, you don't need to marry me off to your kid for me to consider you family._ "

" _That is correct,_ " AuDy says. " _Cass has never married any other member of the Chime, but we are a family._ "

Galatea's _oh_ is a watery thing, and they nearly tip their glass over in an attempt to set it down before throwing their arms around Cass's shoulders. They put their own glass aside so they can bring their arms up around Galatea.

" _You're a good guppy,_ " Galatea murmurs into Cass's shoulder.

" _Don't make me call you 'elder,'_ " Cass threatens with no real intent.

They pull back and take Cass's face between their hands. Their own face is bunched up from the conflict between tears and a smile. " _Thank you. I'm happy to call you family as well._ "

Galatea leaves not long after, pausing to give Cass another hug and a kiss on the cheek before they went. Then, after a moment of contemplation, they repeated the action with AuDy. " _If Cass is family and you are their partner, that makes you family now, too._ "

AuDy raises a hand to pat them on the back before Galatea ends the hug.

*

Two days later, AuDy corners Cass.

They shove Cass against the wall—not hard enough to be painful, but still enough to draw a startled gasp. "AuDy, what—?" But AuDy cuts them off with a finger pressed firmly to Cass's lips. A little thrill of excitement races up Cass's spine.

"Do you trust me?" AuDy's voice is pitched low, their speaker close to Cass's ear. It's nearly impossible not to notice how AuDy has them pressed between the wall and their own weight. They shiver, but they nod.

"Good. Put your hand on my arm. This will stop if you let go. Do you understand?" A million different possibilities run through Cass's head, each one a different reason for why AuDy would say this, a different thing AuDy might do. They swallow. Nod again. Place their hand on AuDy's bicep. The synthskin beneath their hand is still cool and yielding where their fingers dig in, almost like real flesh.

AuDy removes their finger from Cass's lips and shifts that arm so it rests across their chest, pinning them against the wall. Cass knows what will happen if they squirm, but they can't help but try it. AuDy's arm holds fast—firm and implacable—and Cass's pulse jumps.

Their speaker still next to Cass's ear, AuDy whispers, "Your heart rate is elevated. Good." And, Apote help them, it takes every ounce of willpower for Cass not to make a sound. Not to let their knees buckle. Their grip on AuDy's arm tightens.

AuDy raises the arm not pinning Cass and brushes their knuckles over their gills. The touch is featherlight, barely there, but it's enough to make Cass gasp. Taking that as encouragement, AuDy repeats the motion with a little more pressure. "Your breathing is erratic," AuDy says. "I must examine you for signs of respiratory distress."

The statement is almost laughable, but AuDy drags their thumb over the topmost gill slit and Cass forgets how to form words. AuDy slides their palm down Cass's neck, applying just enough pressure to draw out a ragged breath.

Emboldened, AuDy presses their first two fingers into the sensitive gill tissue, a not-quite-gentle kiss. Cass bites back an broken sort of noise that might have been AuDy's name, but even they aren't sure.

AuDy withdraws their hand. Though hardly to the point of complete arousal, Cass feels the absence keenly. They manage a choked, "What—" before AuDy cuts them off.

"If you cannot vocalize properly, then my examination is ended," they say.

"Um."

Though AuDy can't sigh, there's something to the quality of the beat of silence that leaves no doubt in Cass's mind that they would if they could. "If you cannot vocalize…" they repeat, drawing out each syllable. And then Cass realizes, _oh._

"R-right. Yeah. I can—I can do that." They take a shuddering breath to steady themself. "Yeah. Go on."

And AuDy does, pressing another kiss to the side of Cass's neck. It's lighter than the first, but Cass doesn't try to fight back against the rumble in their chest. This seems to satisfy AuDy; they kiss the area again, a rougher kiss this time. Cass's pulse jumps—something AuDy can surely feel—and they moan low in their throat.

"This is acceptable," AuDy informs them. Cass can't help but laugh, but it's broken off when AuDy digs their thumb into the skin adjacent to their gill tissue. Cass's free hand twitches for want of something to grab onto, and their nails bite into AuDy's arm where they grip it.

The pressure eases. "You will advise me if the examination becomes… overwhelming." Not a question, but a directive.

This time, AuDy does allow Cass to huff out a breathy half-chuckle. "Yeah."

"Good."

AuDy's middle and forefinger bear down on the area as they dig their thumb into the actual gill tissue. The sensations combine to simulate the feeling of being bitten with enough force for Cass to keen.

Cass tries to say AuDy's name, but it's a lost cause. AuDy repeats the motion, applies more pressure, shifts their fingers just a little bit lower. Their next "bite" lands in a spot between slits, and the very tip of AuDy's forefinger slides in and grazes the filament and Cass nearly sees stars. The noise this drags out of them is high-pitched and feral. Their hips buck and they shudder. They manage to get out a broken, "Please."

AuDy takes the hint, slotting their leg between Cass's and giving them much needed pressure, something to rut against. They take advantage of it, breathing hard and not biting back the noises AuDy elicits with each new motion.

"AuDy," they gasp. "AuDy, I'm—ah!"

"That is fine," AuDy says, and the way they say it, flat, as if they were talking about the weather, tips Cass over the edge. They come with a low groan, fingers clutching convulsively at AuDy's arm and hip while AuDy switches to gently stroking the side of their neck.

Cass's legs shake a little when they release AuDy's arm and they let them move away from the wall. "That was…" And they stop because it was a lot of things.

"Acceptable?" AuDy supplies.

Cass laughs, though it's more a breathy huff than anything. "Yeah. More than. It was… good. Really good."

"I will fetch ice now."

They turn toward the kitchen, but Cass reaches out and snags one elbow to stop them. "I don't—don't need ice. I know my body's limits."

AuDy faces them, and Cass's fingers trail down their forearm until AuDy has locked their fingers together. "This is not your old body. It will have different limits. That will bruise by tomorrow."

"But no permanent damage?"

AuDy nods. Their hand is warm from where it had been in such close contact with Cass's skin. "That is correct."

Cass shakes their head. "Then I don't need ice."

AuDy looks at them for a moment, head cocked to one side and their stare an almost palpable thing. "I shall take this under advisement," they say.

"Great. Good. Yeah. Um, definitely do that," Cass says, throat gone dry with the realization that this implies AuDy might do such a thing again. "Uh, how long were you planning that?"

"I had been considering it since we came here, but was unsure of how well it would be received. I based my approach off analysis of your behaviors and reactions to others during the time I have known you."

"So… you've been 'analyzing my behaviors' since we formed the Chime?" Cass asks.

"Not entirely." AuDy shakes their head. "It was not until later that I became interested in your welfare." But they don't deny that they'd been analyzing Cass's behaviors while the Chime was still together.

"That's a while."

"Yes. I am very patient."


	14. Visitation Rights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fixed some typos, whoops.

The knock is a surprise, dragging Cass's attention from the vegetables they've been cutting. They set aside the knife and wipe their hands on one of the kitchen towels before heading toward the door. Over their shoulder, they call to AuDy, "Were you expecting someone?" When they receive no response, Cass sighs. "Whatever."

They press the panel to open the door.

"What the _fuck._ "

Before Cass can fully parse who's shown up on their doorstep unannounced to swear at them, a fist flies at their face. Cass blocks the blow with one hand, but their reflexes aren't quite honed enough to deflect the second one; it clips their jaw, painful but hardly debilitating. They catch their assailant's other hand and step backwards to get a look at who has just tried to break their nose.

Even though he's thinner than Cass remembers, they would recognize the spiky neon hair, shitty goatee, and blue-tinged skin anywhere. "Mako? What the hell was _that?_ "

Mako rushes forward in an attempt to headbutt Cass in the sternum, but they step aside and pull Mako's arms behind his back. He twists around to glare, face flushed purple with anger but his expression pinched. Like he's trying not to show any other emotions. "You let us think you were _dead._ You don't get to ask 'what the hell was that,' asshole."

"I _was_ dead," Cass says, keeping their voice as even as they can. It's the voice they used to use on trauma patients, once upon a time.

"How long." Mako doesn't frame the demand as a question.

"Mako…"

"How long have you been holed up on this dumb planet, Cass? Tell. Me."

Shame knots up their insides. "… Long enough," they say because they don't have a good response. "Maybe too long."

"We have been here for approximately eight months," AuDy says from behind Cass. "Hello, Mako."

"Great, _now_ you show up," they grumble. Mako tries to take advantage of the momentary distraction to try to squirm free, but Cass's grip holds steady. He lets out a growl of frustration.

"Fuck you," he snarls, but there's a hitch to his words. "You let m—you let us think you were dead for over two years! Two fucking years! And you didn't have the decency to drop a line or anything to let us know you weren't—you just fucking… let me find out by accident! Were you ever planning to say anything? Or would I still think you were dead if I hadn't found out where Discovery—where AuDy was funneling all those creds? Huh?"

"I… don't know," Cass admits, quiet. Ashamed.

Mako wrenches himself away and shoves Cass in the chest, hard. Tears are already running down his cheeks. "Fuck you!" he cries, in both senses of the word. "Fuck you!"

He goes to shove Cass again, but they catch his hands. They pull him close even as he tries to shove them away a third time. But Apoannta only knows how long he's been on the road, and he looks run ragged well beyond just a breakneck trip to Kalliope's capitol. When Mako tries to push himself out of Cass's hold, his attempts are feeble, and he doesn't think to try wiggling away again.

When the first sob wracks him, Cass has his face pressed to their collarbone. From this angle, it's easy to hide their own face in the hair at the crown of his head. "Fuck… you…" Mako chokes out through the tears. He repeats it again like it's some kind of mantra even as he fists his hands in Cass's tunic and finally stops trying to force space between them.

"I'm sorry," Cass mutters into his hair. They're sure he can't hear it, but they'll say it again once he subsides.

They tug him further into the apartment, and he goes with them. A few shuffling steps find them on the sofa, where Mako crams himself into the corner where the arm meets the back. He wedges himself there and drags Cass along with him, leaving the pair of them an uncomfortable huddle of limbs while the anguish works its way out of his system.

Mako cries himself out in Cass's arms and falls asleep still crammed into the corner of the couch in a position that makes him look vaguely like a pretzel. Cass grabs a blanket off their bed and tucks it around Mako's shoulders before heading for the kitchen. AuDy follows silently behind.

"You knew he was coming," Cass says. Not a question. They find a plastic bag and fill it with ice. This they apply to their jaw.

AuDy takes the makeshift ice pack from Cass's hand, wraps it in a clean dish towel, and holds it up to their face themself. "I did. I didn't know he would be here today, but I knew he would find us."

"Great. My jaw thanks you." Cass sighs. "What are we going to do?"

"We can wake him up, but he exhibits many symptoms of chronic sleep deprivation."

Cass scowls and reaches up to rest their palm against the back of the hand holding the ice pack. The synthskin transfers the chill in a way that doesn't feel natural. "That's not what I meant. I know he's probably sleep-deprived. I _did_ practice medicine once upon a time. On _your ship,_ no less. I meant, do we send him off once he's rested up and then never speak of it again? Do we… I don't know, follow him when he leaves? Do we go visit Aria?"

AuDy is silent for a bit, and Cass has given up on any hope of a response when they say, "You must decide. But I think it isn't good for you to keep avoiding Mako and Aria."

"Yeah. Yeah, I know. But…" _Dealing with Aria and Mako means dealing with everything else._ But they can't bring themself to give voice to that thought. Not yet.

"You do not have to decide now," AuDy says. "But we should figure out what to do with Mako."

Cass snorts. "We can wake him up."

AuDy gives them a Look, and Cass rolls their eyes. "Oh come on, you get to make that joke and I don't? Whatever. I think we should let him stay here for a bit. He looks like a vacation would do him some good."

AuDy only turns to look at Mako and does not respond.

*

Mako stays on their couch for another four hours, periodically shifting and often snoring. After twenty minutes of watching him squirm around in his sleep trying to find a more comfortable position, Cass grabs a pillow from their bed and stuffs it under Mako's head. He drools on it, but he stills.

When Mako finally wakes up, Cass drops a plate of leftover takeout in front of him on the coffee table. "Eat."

"Whoa," Mako drawls, rubbing at his eyes with the heels of his hands. "You're not the boss of me."

"Mako, you look like shit. When was the last time you ate, and what was it?" Cass suspects they know the answer to the question, but they put on their most stern glower and aim it at Mako.

"I dunno," he says with a shrug. "But I got work to do. I shouldn't have crashed out on your couch. Now that I know you're not dead and you're being a jackass about it, I gotta go."

"Mako, you need to _eat,_ " Cass says, and a little bit of the old military command voice creeps into their words. They almost feel bad about it when Mako's face goes pinched, but he doesn't try to get up.

He eyes the plate warily. "What is that?"

"Keshan take-out," Cass says. "It's not the best curry, but it reheats pretty well."

Mako hesitates, then picks up the fork. "Fine. I'll eat your stupid-dumb curry, but then I gotta go."

Cass refrains from contradicting him. The more they watch Mako, the more convinced they are that they can't let him leave the apartment before he's gotten at least three nights of good rest and several more hearty meals.

They watch Mako eat in relative silence that's punctuated by Mako grumbling about how much of a stick in the mud Cass is and Cass responding in kind. But the curry gets eaten and Mako is at least polite enough to put the dishes in the sink once he's done.

"There, happy?" Mako asks with a petulant glare.

"I'll be _happy_ when you've gotten more than just Keshan takeout and a four-hour nap under your belt," Cass says, crossing their arms and glaring right back.

"Whatever. I've got stuff to do." He turns to make his way to the door.

It's AuDy who catches him, hooking one arm around his waist and dragging him bodily to the bedroom and hauling him to the bed. "You will sleep," they tell him with an air of finality that makes Mako's eyes widen. He opens his mouth to argue, then closes it in favor of trying to wriggle free of AuDy's hold.

Cass tries to keep their expression neutral. They know _exactly_ what AuDy's grip is like when they don't want the person they're holding to move.

AuDy pulls Mako down onto the mattress, not bothering to turn back the covers for him. They turn to Cass. "Remove his shoes. I do not want to get the bedding dirty." As if they couldn't be bothered to change the duvet cover should Mako get a little dirt on it. Cass rolls their eyes, but they sit on the edge of the bed next to where AuDy has Mako pinned and tugs off Mako's hideous sneakers.

Mako stops flailing when Cass removes his shoes. "I hate you so much. You're both assholes."

Cass sighs and scoots around to the other side of Mako. "No, _you're_ the asshole for making us have to do this. You could've just been a considerate house guest and slept on the couch. It's a nice couch. Comfy. But no, you had to be an ass."

"I'm not gonna sleep," Mako says, petulant. "I'm going to do work on the mesh until you're asleep and then I'm gonna get up and go do what I need to do."

"Cass and I will make sure you rest, even if you do not sleep." A statement that cements their sleeping arrangements. Taking AuDy's unsubtle hint, Cass throws an arm across Mako's chest and rests their hand on AuDy's side. Effectively pinning Mako between them.

Mako makes a half-hearted attempt to squirm away, just to test whether it is possible. When he finds that it isn't, he grumbles, "I hate you both."

"No you don't," Cass informs him. "You're just exhausted and _need rest._ Now shut your eyes—and your mouth—and go to sleep."

Whether it's the onset of Mako's exhaustion, or the continued effects of their earlier outburst, or even the pressure stimulation from being pressed between Cass and AuDy, Mako _does_ fall asleep. And once he's under, Cass is out like a light.

*

Cass is awake before Mako, and as soon as they stir, AuDy extricates themself from the tangle of limbs and silently heads for the kitchen. It isn't until Cass shifts to reclaim their arm that Mako startles awake.

"Whoa, whoa, you're fine." Cass aims for soothing but their voice is too rough from sleep.

"I slept too long," Mako says, nearly frantic. "I slept too long and I need to—"

Cass cuts him off. "You need to chill the fuck out. AuDy's gone to make breakfast and you're going to eat with me and _stop panicking about work._ "

Mako throws himself out of bed and lands on his feet. His hair is flat on one side. "I've got things to do. It can't wait."

"What's so important that you can't fucking sleep or eat?" Cass snaps. "You're going to keel-haul me for not contacting you when I woke up, but then you're going to breeze in, punch me, and collapse on my couch and expect me not to be worried?"

Now that they've built up a good head of steam, Cass continues their tirade: "I'm a doctor, Mako, and I can tell that you're not taking care of yourself! You can't even tell me when you ate last, and I'm willing to bet you don't know when you slept last before you passed out here. What's so important that you've got to kill yourself by inches? Because that's what it looks like you're doing!"

"What's so important is keeping anything left over from Rigour out of the wrong hands!" Mako exploded. "What's so important is that I'm the only guy they've got who can find it so it can be neutralized! What's so important is that I'm the only one who can _hear_ it, and if I stop—if I stop—" His face is blotchy and purple under the blue tint, and it takes half a second for Cass to realize that he's on the edge of tears (or something worse).

All the frustration leaves Cass in an instant, and they swing their legs out of bed so they can grab Mako's hand. "Whoa, hey, shh," they soothe. "It's okay, sit back down. C'mon, put your head between your legs, okay?"

Mako complies, dropping onto the edge of the bed next to Cass and bending forward until his forehead is pressed against his knees. He gulps down heaving breaths, tries to get himself under control.

Cass raises a hand and lets it hover above Mako's shoulder. Fuck, it's been a while since they've had to do this. They swallow. "Can I touch you?" Mako makes a vague sort of nod, so Cass rests their hand on his spine, just below his ribcage.

"Does this happen often?" Cass asks, though they're pretty sure they know the answer. Mako confirms it by nodding again. "Okay. Do you want me to get you anything?" A shake of the head. They sit like that for a few minutes, Cass's hand on Mako's back, while he tries to get a handle on breathing again.

"I have made breakfast," AuDy says from the doorway. "I made enough for both of you."

From his miserable, hunched position, Mako makes a watery sort of laughing sound. "What the fuck, AuDy cooks? Getting downright domestic there, aren't ya buddy?"

"I was informed that Cass needed more home-cooked meals, and I am the only person who can accommodate this. You appear to need food more than they do."

Mako laughs again. "Holy shit. What the hell did you do to get AuDy cooking for you, Cass? Are they like your house-spouse now?"

The question catches Cass flat-footed, and there is a stretch of silence while they try to decide how to respond. AuDy offers no indication of their own preferences on the matter, leaving Cass to decide whether to answer truthfully or to laugh it off.

Unfortunately, they hesitate too long. "Oh my god. They are. They actually _are._ " Mako's disbelief is plain.

"We are not married. We are only in a relationship." Of course AuDy chooses now to speak up. They pause. "Your breakfast is ready. I have errands to run now and will not be back for some time."

Cass fights not to roll their eyes. They fail, but AuDy doesn't make a comment.

Once AuDy has left, Cass shuffles Mako toward the kitchen, where he installs himself on one of the stools next to the kitchen island, in front of a plate with a huge omelet on it.

"So…" Mako curls and uncurls his toes where they rest on the edge of the stool. "You and AuDy."

"You don't have to say it like _that,_ " Cass says, wincing. Apotine, they do not want to be having this discussion.

"No! No, I mean… You and _AuDy,_ huh? Like… AuDy? And you?"

Cass presses their lips together until they're sure they won't snap at Mako. "That's… not any better. You realize that, right?"

Mako shrugs. "It's a lot," he says. "First you were dead, and now you're not, which is pretty major as it is. But then it turns out you're in a relationship with someone I always thought only kind of cared about us, y'know?"

"AuDy's always cared about us," Cass tells him, voice flat.

"I guess, but…" Mako waves his hands helplessly, as if trying to snatch his words out of the air. "I dunno, I never thought they were that kind of person. They just kind of did stuff. Didn't think about… you know. Romance or whatever."

"I didn't think so either, but it turns out we were both wrong." Cass sighs. "Is this going to be a problem?"

"No, it's just… I don't have to get it, I guess. So long as you're both happy, I'm happy for you?"

"You're making that face you always make when you're not happy about something."

Mako shifts on his perch. "Brain's itchy. I wanna be _doing_ something."

"You could start by eating."

Mako groans. "Fine. I'm eating. See? This is me, shoveling AuDy omelet into my face." To demonstrate, he takes a huge forkful of the omelet and starts chewing. With his mouth full, he says, "Satisfied?"

"It's better," Cass grudgingly agrees. They don't stop gritting their teeth until Mako has inhaled the contents of his plate. Only then do they pick at their own breakfast.

*

By the time AuDy returns, a single parcel under one arm, Mako has rattled around the apartment like an irritable poltergeist, but made no further moves to leave. "I'm gonna take a bath," he announces to no one in particular, which is probably code for _I'm going to snoop in there or figure out how to drill through the wall so I can escape._ Or that's what Cass guesses.

The sound of the water turning on doesn't help them pick which one is more likely.

AuDy stores the parcel in the coat closet next to the door and turns to Cass. "I have concerns," they state with their volume pitched low.

"About Mako?"

"Yes. He exhibits… symptoms."

When they don't elaborate further, Cass presses, "Symptoms of what? Sleep deprivation, sure. Not eating properly, got that. Anxiety, oh yeah. Am I missing something?"

"He exhibits similar symptoms to those affected by Rigour."

Cass freezes, their breath caught in their throat. "Are you sure?"

"I have seen these symptoms many times before," AuDy says. "Every time I have met Rigour, I saw them. Mako exhibits them."

Cass sucks in a breath and huffs it out. They want to question AuDy, but… well, it isn't AuDy they want to doubt. It's the diagnosis, given so precisely, that Cass wants to refute. "But Rigour is dead. I should know."

"He has had close contact with what constituted Rigour's mind. There is precedent for programs being passengers in his brain after even short contact."

AuDy's statement hangs there, and again, Cass wants to give some sort of rebuttal. As if that will somehow negate the truth of AuDy's words. Of the situation. Finally, they say, "What do we do? There's got to be something we can do. He's…" And they gesture in the direction of the bathroom to encompass everything about Mako's current state.

"I thought about it while I was running my errand," AuDy says. "I have an idea."


	15. A Divine's Devotional, Book II

"I'd ask where you got this," Cass says as they take the rigalia from AuDy. "But honestly, I don't think I want to know."

"Helia imports things. I asked them to import this. It seemed like you would like to have one back, but now you have a use for it."

"Right." Which raises the questions of how AuDy came to learn that Helia smuggled items from Apostolos onto Kalliope, or when they would have gone to see Helia of their own volition. Cass doesn't think they want to know the answers to those, either. Instead, they settle the rigalia on their head and weave the neural connectors into their hair to keep it settled and get the connections direct skin contact with their scalp.

They hadn't realized they missed the weight of it, but wearing it now elicits such a deep sense of rightness and normalcy. Cass sighs. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." The two words are warmer than Cass expects.

From where he's curled up on the couch, Mako groans. "Oh my god, get a room."

"This is _our apartment,_ Mako," Cass says, sighing in exasperation now. "It's not our fault that you're here."

"It is technically my fault because I intentionally did not hide my financial activity," AuDy says. "I knew you would find us eventually."

"Thank god for that," Mako mutters. "But seriously, what the hell? You two…?" He makes a wide hand gesture meant to encompass the both of them. "I mean, how does that even—"

"It works just fine for both of us," Cass snaps, fighting down the heat rising to their cheeks. "And _how_ that works is none of your business."

"Yeesh. Can't a guy be curious about how his two best friends started… you know." He made the gesture again.

Cass rolls their eyes. "If you must know—"

AuDy cuts them off. "I was upset when Cass let themself be kidnapped during a job. I would have been less upset if it had been you or Aria. I realized that Cass had become more important to me, somehow. That was when I decided to stay as close to them as I could. To keep them safe."

When they'd let themself be kidnapped… "I knew things got a little weird after that, but… this has been a thing since _then?_ "

"Yes."

"I remember that job. Didn't we pull you out of that other guy's base missing a bunch of your blood?" Mako asks.

Cass winces. "Yeah. That wasn't fun."

"I was worried," AuDy says. "I realized that I did not want to exist in a world where you did not."

"The sentiment is mutual, for what it's worth," Cass says. Their fingers twitch with the desire to reach out and grab AuDy's hand, but they clamp down on it. Not in front of Mako. Not yet, at least.

"That is… valuable," AuDy says, and they _do_ reach for Cass's hand, press a two-finger kiss to their palm. "Thank you for returning that sentiment."

From his perch on the couch, Mako makes gagging noises. "Gross. Yuck. I repeat: get a room."

This time, AuDy turns to him. "This is our apartment. You are free to leave at any time."

"Oh. First it was 'Mako, you can't go!' and now you can't wait to get rid of me." He grins, though it's still a tired sort of expression. "I see how it is."

"You're not going anywhere," Cass grumbles. "Not until we're done with you."

"Ooh, I'm not allowed to leave until you're done _having your way with me?_ "

Cass grits their teeth. "I swear to Apole… That's it, I changed my mind, we're not helping you."

Mako snorts. "Cool, whatever. I'll just be on my way now.."

"You will not," AuDy states with an air of finality that Mako does not try to argue.

*

They hold Mako tight between them, AuDy at his front, Cass at his back. His breathing is quick and shallow, and even Cass can feel his heart pounding under their hand. "Calm down," they murmur. "You're fine. It'll be fine."

"We will not let anything bad happen," AuDy adds. "I have almost finished my preparations. This will be over soon."

Mako nods. "Yeah. _Right._ Right. Okay." Cass can't see his face, but they don't need to in order to know what their expression is. They tighten their hold on Mako as if in doing so they could still the racing thoughts. He takes a deep breath in through his nose then out through his mouth, and some of the tension bleeds from him. "Okay."

AuDy touches Mako's shoulder. "I am ready."

"Do it," he breathes.

With no more warning, Cass's bedroom disappears.

The mesh has a tendency to twist around September and its inhabitants, a fact which Cass had tried to forget in the intervening years. Has almost succeeded at, except the icy mist clings to their avatar's skin and brings it all rushing back.

The three of them stand in what had likely started as a forest: towering redwoods, soft moss, the occasional bird calling for its mate. Clouds blot out the sun, scattering the light and casting everything in a foggy gray. But there's a crater in the world—the mesh construct—like an open wound, and at its epicenter is Mako Trig.

He tries to step forward, but his upraised foot remains connected to the spot with strings of rubbery goo. "Gross," says Mako with a nervous chuckle. Cass takes his hand; he squeezes it until his knuckles are white. It doesn't hurt, not here, but Cass has a hard time moving their fingers when they try to squeeze back.

AuDy steps forward. Their feet sink into the ichor coating the ground around Mako, but when they raise it again, the goo flakes off in the wake of their passing. They reach out and take Mako's other hand. "Cass. Please pull Mako when I give the signal."

Cass nods, and somehow Mako tightens his grip on Cass's hand.

"What's the game plan here, buddy?" Mako asks with a shaky voice. The question was obviously meant for AuDy despite the fact that Mako held Cass's gaze.

"Remove Rigour's remaining code." AuDy says it as if it's the most obvious thing. Which, Cass supposes, it is. Then, to Cass, "Now."

Cass hauls on Mako's hand, yanking him off his feet. They wrap their arms around him with a grunt and try to pull him away from the crater, but the ichor remains attached to his feet. They take a step back, and another, but then something snaps and pulls on Mako, tries to jerk him from Cass's arms. They hold on tight. Mako finally gets the memo and clings to Cass's waist in response.

AuDy steps forward, kneels in the goo. They glance over at Cass and Mako. "This will hurt."

It's all the warning they get before AuDy grabs a handful of the black tendrils tethering Mako to the darkness and _pulls._

Mako starts screaming.

"I've got you, I've got you," Cass says, though they don't know how audible they are to Mako's ears. "Mako, look at me. _Mako._ "

Mako looks up at Cass, his face twisted with pain and tears in his eyes, but he meets Cass's gaze and takes in a shuddering breath. When AuDy grabs another handful of goo, he bites back the scream and keeps staring up into Cass's face.

"I've got you. Just keep looking at me," Cass repeats. Mako makes a choked, wounded noise, but he nods and tightens his hold on Cass's waist. In return, Cass does the same. "I've got you. _We've_ got you."

AuDy does not pause. With every new fistful of ichor they yank away, Mako writhes in Cass's arms as he tries not to howl. Fails, more often than not. But Cass holds firm, keeps him from looking back at AuDy as they work.

Cass _does_ watch AuDy, though. In their peripheral vision, they see AuDy's chassis slicked up with a substance that might be oil or might be blood. It clings to their synthskin cladding, slides off of it, and tries to climb back up as if it has a mind of its own. Maybe it does; Cass is hardly an expert on the matter. But AuDy keeps at their grim work heedless of Mako's pained cries that eventually subside into sobs and then hiccuping as Mako tries to just breathe through it.

Cass doesn't ask what's taking so long, no matter how badly they want to. The quiet is more gutwrenching than the yelling.

Finally, finally, something gives and all the force that Cass has been using to pull Mako out of the sludge stops meeting resistance. They topple backward, landing hard on their ass and cushioning Mako's fall when they wrench him free.

AuDy kneels in the muck that has taken the characteristics of mud mixed with blood, and in their clenched fingers they hold a wriggling thing that strains to be free of their grasp. They give the impression of a dispassionate stare as they hold it away from their body.

"Is that…?" Cass asks even though they know.

"Yes. The very last of it." AuDy tightens their fingers and Cass _hears_ it, the droning whine they'd heard as they rode Rigour into the sun. In their arms, Mako squirms and buries his head in Cass's shoulder, too exhausted to do anything more to protect himself from the sound.

AuDy squeezes. The whine rises and rises and rises in pitch until it feels like a needle in their eardrums—and then a snap. And then… silence.

Cass had thought Mako was exhausted, but he takes a deep breath and lets out a relieved sort of sob. They rub soft circles over his back, gently run their fingers through his hair, try to gentle him through it. "It's okay," they tell him. "It's over. It's over."

*

They come out of the visualization much they way they went in, though now Cass and AuDy have their arms thrown across each other with Mako wedged between them with barely any wiggle room. Mako has rolled over, and Cass's shoulder is wet with tears and snot. He clings to Cass like a lifeline. His breathing is shaky, but he seems otherwise none the worse for wear.

Cass looks at AuDy over his head. They don't look worse for wear either, but would there be any way to really tell? Softly, so as not to disturb Mako, Cass whispers, "AuDy…?"

"Mako is asleep," they say. Followed by, "I am fine. There is no damage to any of my systems or faculties."

"Thank fuck," Cass breathes, the air rushing from their lungs. They tighten their grip on AuDy's waist, which pulls both them and, by extension, Mako a little bit closer.

They stay like that, the three of them, Cass dozing and Mako fast asleep, until well after sunrise the next day.

*

"So, what now?" Mako asks the next day. He perches on a stool on the side of the kitchen island opposite Cass.

Cass doesn't look up from the eggs they're frying. "What do you mean, 'what now?' If you want to go back to doing… whatever, we probably can't stop you." _But we'd rather you stay,_ they don't say. They feel confident of AuDy's thoughts on this matter.

"I mean, what are we gonna do now? Are you two going to stay shacked up here? What about Aria, are you planning on ever telling her, or am I sworn to secrecy?" Mako fiddles with the silverware laid out in front of him. "Working as a super spy made me learn how to do that, but this is kind of a doozy."

"You sure about that? You _did_ just admit you were a super spy to an enemy foreign leader," Cass teases.

"No, I admitted I'm a super spy to a fish cyborg who _looks_ like an enemy former leader. At least that's what I'm telling my bosses when I… you know." Mako's face goes through a complicated series of expressions before landing on melancholy.

"You don't have to go back," Cass blurts out. "We've got money. You saw it. You don't have to work. We could go wherever."

Mako opens his mouth as if to protest, then closes it. He tries again, "I… don't want to go back to work." There's a reverent sort of awe in his voice. "I don't want to go back to work. I want to couch surf with you two for a month. Just lie on your couch and not move. Holy shit!"

"You're going to have to bathe if you want to stay on our couch," Cass says as they plate the eggs and shove them in Mako's direction. "Now eat your breakfast and go… I don't know, call in sick and then play games on the mesh or something."

"Yeah. Yeah!" Mako grins so wide that Cass thinks his face might split in two. "Yeah, I'm gonna use every single sick day and vacation day I've never used before. That's, like, three months already."

"You still have to bathe, or AuDy will do it for you," Cass warns.

"Speaking from experience?" Mako waggles his eyebrows, and Cass throws their hands up in disgust.

"As a matter of fact, yes. I'd been shot and only had one working arm, so I couldn't do it myself." They recall the panic they'd felt, can't help but think of the contrast from then to now. They shake their head. "Anyway, that isn't the point."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute. What the fuck? You got _shot?_ " Mako's words are incredulous. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm mostly over it." As if gunshots are something you get over. "It's my first scar on this body, though. I feel kind of bad scuffing it up when AuDy spent so much money on it."

Mako's expression shifts from shock to excitement. "Sick! I wanna see it."

"Why? It's just a scar."

"Dude, it's your first scar!" Mako's eyes are alight. "I bet it's rad. C'mon, please?" He draws out the last word like taffy.

Cass sighs, trying to keep their trepidation off their face. There is no escaping Mako's tenacity. They untuck their tunic and tug it up high enough to expose the the reddish knots of healing scar tissue. "There, happy?"

Mako leans forward to inspect the skin there. He stares for a few moments, as if memorizing the way the scar had altered the plane of Cass's side. His fingers brush the tissue, and Cass flinches. They let the shirt drop and knock Mako's hand away with their elbow.

Mako jerks his hand back. "Whoa, watch it."

"You don't see with your fingers," Cass snaps.

Mako shrugs. "It just looks gnarly. What the hell were you doing? I mean, you got shot but _how?_ "

"Someone was about to get hurt and someone was already hurt and I had to do something," Cass says, a statement of fact that runs deep into their bones.

"Guess you're still you even after you died," Mako says. He aims for a joke but is too serious to manage it. His hand has gone back to hovering over where the scar is.

At length, his hand drops and he shakes his head. "Hey, so… about you and AuDy."

Cass swears to themself. Of course Mako would bring this up. Of course he'd do it now, after they went into his head to… do what needed to be done. "Yeah? What about us?"

"Shit. I'm no good at this…" He pauses, tries to collect his words. "But I'm happy that you're happy and all that junk. There. I said it. Now I'm never gonna be sentimental again."

This… isn't what Cass expects. They stare at Mako, who's looked away and is toeing at the carpet with his bare feet. "Thanks," Cass says. "That… thanks."


	16. Skipping Town

Cass waits for Galatea this time, their usual order set in front of the chair across from Cass. When they arrive and spot Cass, the cheerful expression drains from their face as they sit down. " _What's wrong, child? Don't tell me your AuDy has done something regrettable? I'm an old fish, but I_ will _fight a Divine if I must._ "

That draws a laugh out of Cass. " _Bless you, Gala. No. It's… sort of the opposite. One of our old friends—Mako—found us._ " They take a sip from their latte.

Galatea mirrors Cass's gesture. " _Is that a bad thing, then?_ "

" _It's complicated. I was dead, Gala. Everyone saw me die. And then I wasn't anymore and I didn't take that well. And then he found out that I wasn't dead anymore and_ he _didn't take it well._ " Cass sighs and shakes their head. " _Long story short, we've talked it out. We're going home._ "

" _Surely going to Apostolos will only increase your chances of being seen,_ " Galatea says, incredulous.

" _No. I mean, yes, it would. But no, we're not going to Apostolos. It… It hasn't been home for a long time._ " They pause. Measure out their words. " _AuDy and Mako and I are going to Counterweight. At the end of the week._ "

" _Isn't that a cause for celebration, then? You're going home with your friends!_ " Galatea's still-solemn face belies their cheerful words.

" _It's bittersweet. It means I have to look everything that's happened since my death right in the eyes, and that's a lot. A lot to deal with and a lot of everything._ " They flash them a lopsided grin that they're sure doesn't reach their eyes. " _Besides, Galatea Iona Stephenos, if you think I'm happy to be leaving you, then obviously you don't know me very well._ "

" _Oh, I know, you'll miss my cooking,_ " Galatea says with a grin of their own. Their eyes are already filling with tears. " _And I'll miss this. You, too, I suppose._ "

" _We're not leaving just yet,_ " Cass says, reaching across the table and taking Galatea's hand. How odd it is to be on this side of the equation of their friendship: the one to arrive to the Constellation first, the one to place the order for them both, the one be providing comfort. Bittersweet like their impending voyage. " _Galatea, will you have one last meal with me? So you can meet my other family?_ "

" _I wouldn't dare miss it,_ " Galatea says.

*

"So this person is like… old enough to be your parent, right?" Mako asks, fidgeting with the bottle of wine he's tucked under an arm like an infant. A very _expensive_ infant that Cass had purchased on the way home from the Constellation Coffee two days before. An infant that he is trying to uncork with limited success. "Do I have to, I dunno, observe some dumb Apostolosian custom or something?'

Cass pinches the bridge of their nose. "Yes. It's called having some manners for once in your life."

Mako groans. "But Parent-1…"

"Do _not_ call me that," Cass snaps.

Thankfully, Galatea chooses that moment to knock on the door. Cass turns from watching Mako and opens it.

"Oh, Cass, it's so good to see you!" they say in galactic common, and draw Cass into a hug. Once inside, they do the same for AuDy, then—after a moment of indecision—Mako as well. "It's so good to see you again and to meet you for the first time."

Mako disengages himself from the hug like a cat that's been scooped up against its will. "Hey, yeah, nice to meet you, too. How d'you know Cass? I mean like, how'd you figure out it was _Cass_ and not some douche named 'Agapios.'"

Galatea chuckles, unperturbed by Mako's question. "A person must have their secrets. But it helps that Cass is less good at subterfuge than they might like to think."

"Oh man, no kidding!" Mako says. "There was this one time where they thought we weren't paying attention and they gave this thing to some other Apostolosians and got caught by the tabloids. Their face was _all over_ the news."

Cass winces. "That was one time."

"A very visible time," AuDy adds.

"You should talk," Cass grumbles. "You told us you'd turned that lady over to the authorities, but you just let her go and pretended you used the—might I add, _non-existent_ —reward money to do repairs on the left engine of our ship."

"Oh yeah? Well _you_ bought like thirty robots on credit and had to get Aria to co-sign!" Mako crows, jabbing a finger in Cass's direction.

Cass splutters, "That—that was you! You did that! If I'd been stupid enough to do that, my credit was impeccable and I wouldn't have needed Aria to co-sign anything!"

"Yeah, well, which one of us is dating a robot right now, huh?" Mako crosses his arms over his chest. "Seems a little suspicious. Maybe they're one of the robots you bought. Maybe they're your mail-order spouse."

Cass covers their face with both hands. "Eidolons, I can't believe you."

"It does sound fishy," AuDy chimes in.

"I hate you both," Cass groans.

Galatea, whose presence Cass had almost forgotten about, bursts out laughing. "I am so glad I get to spend this time with you before you leave. It's good to know that you'll be well taken care of when I won't be around to ride herd on you."

AuDy turns to Galatea. "Do not worry. I will regulate their caffeine intake once we are off-world."

"Regulate…? Oh! Yes, of course. Just remember that they take their coffee with no sugar and a lot of cream," Galatea says smiling. Their expression is soft and fond.

Mako finally works the cork free of the wine bottle with a _pop._ "Okay, kids, let's get this party started. Galatea, I'm gonna need to see some ID before I can pour you a glass. Sorry, it's the rules."

Galatea raises a hand to their chest in mock-offense. "Why, I never! Shouldn't I be the one requesting _your_ ID, guppy?"

Cass groans again.

Despite what they consider a rocky start, the meal is pleasant. Galatea and Mako get along like a house on fire (unfortunately), even after Mako manages to start a literal fire during food preparation. The shrimp-like creatures Cass bought as a side for the pasta are a little over-cooked as a result, but no one complains.

The wine probably helped (or didn't). It's strong and sweet, and even splitting the bottle three ways results in a pleasant buzz. Mako bickers with Cass over the details of embarrassing stories from their time with the Chime, while AuDy provides unhelpful interjections of dubious worth to the conversation. Galatea listens, chin in their hand, an expression of delight on their face that only grows as the evening progresses.

It's late when Galatea rises from the dinner table and steps around it to stand next to Cass. "I'm afraid I must go. My spouse will be concerned if I'm gone much longer, and I admit to being quite tired."

A sharp sort of sadness twists in Cass's stomach as they stand. "Thank you for coming, Galatea. You've… I'm not sure what my time here would've been like without you. Thank you." They reach to tap the back of Galatea's hand, but they pull Cass into a fierce hug instead.

"I'm glad to have met you, Cassander Timaeus Berenice," they say into Cass's shoulder. "I hope for nothing but the safest sails and calmest seas in your future. Go with Apole's blessings back to your home and the rest of your family. It's a good family, from what I hear."

Tears collect in the corners of Cass's eyes as they return Galatea's hug. "It is a good family, and some of that's because you're a part of it. Safe sails and a clear horizon to you, Galatea Iona Stephenos."

*

The next day, Mako books them first class passage back to Counterweight, despite Cass's protests. "That's a small fortune!"

"And? 'Agapios'—" he makes a disgusted face and frames the name with air-quotes (Cass can't blame him, the name still sucks), "—has a _large_ fortune, and that's a long fucking trip to be crammed into a tiny tin can. Believe me, that's how I got off September the first time."

"Fine, whatever. It's AuDy's money anyway."

But by the time they've packed up everything they wanted to take, loaded it onto the cargo drone, and found their way to the cabin they would spend the next five weeks in, Cass is grateful. The room is large, lavishly furnished, and has a bathroom with a wide garden tub that is deep enough for them to submerge themself.

The first thing they do, though, is set up their shrine to Apole and add the Automated Dynamics unit beside the Apole figurine. Mako watches them with keen interest as they go through their devotions in silence. When they're done, he says, "That's new. You religious now?"

Cass scoffs. "Sacreligious, maybe. You're not supposed to have anything up there that isn't related to your eidolon."

"Yeah. What's up with that?" He points at the resin AuDy replica.

"It was a joke they made and I ran with it."

Mako nods as if that explains things. As if he understands the gravity of what AuDy did. Which… maybe he does. AuDy used their Divine force to help him, didn't they?

Curiosity satisfied, he turns to where AuDy has installed themself in a chair in the living space. "How about you? You're not gonna just go into sleep mode like you did last time, right?"

They shrug. "I may not. It depends on if the trip is boring."

"How is it gonna be boring? You've got me!"

Cass rubs the bridge of their nose. It will, they suspect, be a long five weeks.

*

Mako, as it happened, booked a room with not only an expansive tub but a single, huge bed.

"You know there's three of us, right?"

Mako shrugs. "You had a smaller bed back in that apartment and we made it work. Besides, this was all they had left, and it turns out I like being squished a little when I'm falling asleep."

"It will be fine," AuDy says.

"That sounds like a very Aria 'fine,'" Cass grumbles.

But AuDy is right. They make it work. The first night feels awkward, with Mako wedged between Cass and AuDy in a foreign bed, but AuDy reaches up and taps a kiss on Cass's cheek, their shoulder, their spine, before splaying their hand over the skin at the bottom of their ribcage. It's easier to relax with AuDy holding onto them. More natural to rest a hand on AuDy's waist and drift into an easy slumber.

*

The trip passes without incident, a lazy five weeks during which Cass spends much of their time exploring the ship and trying to keep Mako entertained long enough to keep him from fogging anything vital to the ship's functioning. First class offers amenities like a pool, a bar, and an observation deck to watch the distant nebulae as they drift by.

AuDy spends the most time there, perched on a stool they've pulled up right next to the window.

"Do you miss the _Kingdom Come?_ " Cass asks after the second week of travel.

"I miss flying," AuDy replies.

Cass offers them a small smile. "Once a pilot, always a pilot, huh."

"Yes." A pause. "And I must broaden my horizons."

There isn't anything to say to that, so Cass reaches out to take AuDy's hand. They let them, lacing their fingers together as they do so. After a while, AuDy says, "I am not sad. This is a new horizon to explore."

"Yeah, no kidding," Cass says with a laugh.

AuDy turns to face them. "I am glad you are near."

"Me too," Cass says. "Me too."

*

Sometime in the middle of the third week, Mako sits bolt-upright on the bed where he'd been dozing. His expression is one of equal parts awe and shock as he glances around the room. Then, as if deciding on something, he throws himself off the bed and grabs Cass's shoulder. "Holy shit, Cass!"

Cass abandons trying to read the book on their datapad. "What's gotten into you?"

"Larry!" Mako blurts out, awe still written clearly on his features. "Larry's gotten into me!"

At Cass's arched eyebrow, he groans. "Not like _that._ I mean, you remember that whole Rigour thing stuck in my brain? He was doing his best to keep it from taking me over. And once AuDy zapped it, he could put himself back together! It turns out spending all that time fighting the ghost of an evil robot takes a lot out of a guy."

"Yeah, no shit. You're still not looking too great yourself," Cass says drily.

"Thanks. I appreciate it. You've got a real talent for making a guy feel attractive." Mako sticks out his tongue.

It's Cass's turn to roll their eyes. "Yes, because people who've worked themselves half to death are _so_ sexy."

"Says the person having an affair with a Divine."

"I'm not—!" Cass splutters. "That doesn't even make sense, Mako! AuDy is my primary partner. I can't have an affair with them because I'm already _with them._ "

But it's no use. He's already bolted from the room, presumably in search of AuDy so he can tell them the news.


	17. Homecoming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it. It's been a wild ride and I can't tell you how much all of your comments have meant to me even though I'm rubbish at replying. As of this writing, this is the second-longest piece of fiction I've ever finished, and I can't begin to express what sharing this has meant. Seriously, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for reading.

They arrive on Counterweight and check in to a fairly nice hotel in Centralia, this one booked by AuDy over the mesh while they were in transit. The room is decent enough, but Mako throws down his bag and says, "We won't be here long. I messaged Aria when we landed. We're going to her place for dinner tonight."

Cass drags their own luggage into the storage closet to prevent themself from tripping over it later. "Tonight? Really? We just got here."

"Yeah, tonight!" Mako says. "That way you can't keep chickening out on letting her know you're not still dead. Since she doesn't have a hacker as awesome as me working for her and keeping tabs on the machine ghost of one of her best friends."

"You don't have to say it like that," Cass says. "Can't we take some time to, I don't know, rest or something?"

"Dude, we just had a five-week cruise," Mako says. "If you need to rest after _that,_ AuDy needs to take that body of yours back because you came out way older than when you went in."

"I cannot return it," AuDy pipes up. "They have damaged it and voided the warranty."

"Whoa, hey, how was any of that my fault?" Cass demands, incensed. AuDy shrugs; Mako snickers.

*

"So… what did you tell her?" Cass asks as they stand at the door to Aria's penthouse suite.

"Just that I was bringing over some guests for dinner and I wanted it to be a surprise," he said, grinning. "I even fogged the cameras downstairs and in the halls because I didn't want her peeking. I want to see the look on her face when she sees this." He gestures to all of Cass.

"What are the chances that she's going to punch me, too?" they grumble.

Mako's grin softens. "Aww, c'mon, you know Aria isn't the punch-y type. That's Jacqui, and she's off with the kids because I asked Aria really nicely to have her all to myself tonight. Secret agent business."

Cass nearly chokes. "Kids?"

"Um, yeah, don't you read the news?"

"They do not," AuDy answers helpfully. _Traitor._

"Yeah, _Executive Joie-Green_ and her bodyguard-turned-wife adopted a couple of rugrats like three months ago. Cute kids." He rubs his hands together. "Uncle Mako's gonna spoil them _rotten._ Well, Uncle Mako and Uncle Larry, now, I guess. And—whatever you two are, probably."

The concept of Mako as an uncle, of themself as a family member is… a lot for Cass to take in. But they have to process it later because the door in front of them slides open and in the doorway stands Aria Joie-Green. Her hair is still short, but it's growing out, and it's pinned out of her face with Cass's favorite jewelry.

"Hey, Mako, hi," she says. "I was kind of confused about why you wanted to meet like this, but it's good to see you! Who are your—" And she stops as she looks, really _looks,_ at who has accompanied Mako to her home. "Mako. What's going on?"

He grins at her, but it's a sheepish expression. "Look who I dug up?" he says, the last syllable trailing up as if he is unsure.

Aria's voice shakes. "This isn't funny."

"It's me," Cass says softly. "And AuDy."

"This is not a joke," AuDy adds. Their words bring back the memory from so long ago, of their assurance that what they'd shown Cass was the truth.

Aria shakes her head. "Mako, this isn't funny."

"It's not a joke, like AuDy said," Mako insists, but he wavers under Aria's stare.

"I called you, Aria," Cass says before she can respond to Mako. "Before I… you know. Was a big damn hero. I called you and I said some things that I didn't think I'd live to regret. But I do. I was a dick to you."

Aria's eyes cut over to them now, pin them with a gaze that would kill them if her eyes weren't already filling with tears. "Yeah, you were a huge dick and then you _died._ What the hell is going on?"

AuDy steps forward. "I collected their consciousness from the mesh where _Apokine_ had sent it. From there, I had a new body grown for them. It was not easy." They pause. "Cass has a shrine to me now."

"I have a shrine for _Apole,_ which I added a figure of you to as a joke," Cass grumbles, heat rising to their face.

"Cass has a shrine to me," AuDy repeats, but they follow it with a laugh that makes it even more difficult to fight down the blush. Aria's attention snaps up to AuDy's "face," her eyes wide.

"Did you… did you just…?"

"Yeah, did you know AuDy _laughs?_ " Mako chuckles and shifts from foot to foot nervously.

That is what tips Aria over. She surges forward and throws her arms around the necks of both AuDy and Cass and pulls them in close. "Oh my god, you were both dead. I had funerals and they both _sucked_ because I was never gonna see you again!" She leans back long enough for Cass to see the tears running down her cheeks (failing to ruin her impeccable makeup) before she punches both of them in the arms in quick succession. "That's for making me sad, you assholes!"

AuDy takes the blow with aplomb, but Cass flinches and hisses through their teeth when they realize she'd taken aim with her _metal arm_ and has obviously been taking hand-to-hand lessons from her now-wife. "Fuck!"

"You deserved it, you dick," Aria says before pulling Cass in for another, more bone-crushing hug. This one, at least, they could see coming, so they brace themself and manage to bring their arms up to reciprocate. She starts crying in earnest now, though they aren't the wracking sort of sobs that plagued Mako when he'd first seen Cass again. There is no way that their sweater isn't going to have eye makeup smeared all over it. They rub small circles on her back and make soothing noises as best they can with her squeezing so tight.

When she lets go, she hesitates for a moment, then flings herself at them, too. "I hate you for making me so sad," she sniffs miserably.

AuDy accepts this, like the punch, with no complaint. "You do not hate us. You're wearing Cass's jewelry."

Aria makes a watery sound that might be a laugh. "They were a dick but I still miss—missed them."

"I missed you, too," Cass says.

"Hey, I hate to be a buzzkill, but can we go inside and get food? I'm starving." Mako tilts his head toward the interior of the penthouse suite.

Aria sniffs again, wipes her eyes and nose with an expensive-looking handkerchief, and nods. "Yeah. Let's… let's get some shitty Keshan takeout."

"Is that place we liked still open?" Mako asks. "I'm still on Kalliope time and… I've been on kind of a work bender for a while."

"Yeah, it's still open. We can order from there." Aria's words are accompanied by a watery smile.

And like that, Cass realizes: they're home.

*

It took AuDy/Discovery more than three Kalliopean months of combing the mesh to find everything they needed, but it wasn't until almost a month after Rigour's demise that they realized there was even anything to find at all. The first ping registered while AuDy/Discovery hovered in the mesh near a spaceport; they collected the stray echo and wrote it off as an oddity. The second was more substantial, less easily written off. By the time they found the third… The evidence had become impossible to ignore.

The rest of it—gathering funds, putting in work orders, making reservations, expediting deliveries—was trivial by comparison. Manipulating data on the mesh, even within encrypted systems, came so easily now. Mako would have been proud.

Nearly a Kalliopean year after Rigour's demise, AuDy/Discovery hovered in the mesh around the main offices of the most prestigious biomedical corporation on the planet, waiting to observe the fruits of their labor.


End file.
